Nancy and I met in music programs at our synagogue. We both sang, as service leaders, and for fun. We also both enjoyed reading, and we explored the Jewish novels of Chaim Potok.
His book Davita's Harp featured a female leading character, which appealed to both of us. The title harp was not a Celtic lap harp or a tall orchestral harp. Instead, it was a door harp, which is a musical instrument that plays itself. A wooden box with tuned metal strings stretched across a sound hole, a door harp has metal balls that hang next to the strings. The balls hit the strings when the door is opened and closed, making them sound. It's kinda like a wind chime for indoors.
Some months later, Nancy gave me a door harp for my birthday. Its sound hole was in the shape of a Star of David, the six-pointed star of Judaism. I greeted it with glad cries and mounted it on my front door as soon as I could. It hangs there, sounding its major triad when I open the door, to this very day.
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