New Book Forthcoming
 
Call Upon Me
An inspirational book about the power of the Jewish prayers with quotes from the prophets

 

Mind Over Matter
How I helped my sister start a business during retirement.
(E-Book, softcover book coming soon)

It's never too late to start a business

I remember my sister calling to tell me about Donna Summer’s home going and how she was so concerned for her parental family as well as her husband Bruce and their three daughters. Donna’s three beautiful daughters had always been referred to as ‘The Supremes’ by my sister. My sister was in Atlanta, Georgia for our niece, Christina Buckner’s, graduation from Clark University, one of the many historical Black colleges in Atlanta. As my baby brother, Ezra Buckner’s, health had been declining, my sister’s role had evolved to that of  ‘Big sister in chief’ to look after him. My family role had always been to keep my sister calm. Three months after Donna’s death, we lost Ezra, our last brother. But all praise be to the Almighty, our brother lived to see his youngest daughter earn her  Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education .

Sometimes in life there are circumstances that happen that require us to reinvent ourselves. Our brother was a major part of ‘Teachable Clothing,’ with his distinguished people skills and business savvy he helped propel my sister’s creative idea of designing a clothing line to introduce preschoolers to a neurological sequential method of teaching toddlers and preschoolers their  alphabet, numbers, colors and geometric shapes with a syllabus and jeans and t-shirts with detachable letters and numbers. The grand finale, happened two years later by utilizing my expertise in sales and marketing for Continental Airlines and 23 years of working with CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies, with all three of our minds involved at the onset my sister and I saw our vision become a reality. It’s “Just The Two of Us” from our parental family. In spite of the setbacks we continued to move forward; toward the prize of the higher calling of God to bring this business into fruition. Our goal is to bring America back to it’s first place standing in education and to support the children of fallen soldiers, our heroes. Whenever, I am faced with any challenges, I can hear the voice of the prophets crying out in the desert, “ Make straight in the desert a highway of holiness.


In Search of Hidden Treasures
(E-Book, softcover book coming soon)

Throughout my extensive world travels, I have been privileged to hear some amazing stories of survival at a variety of Shabbos tables. In Search of Hidden Treasures is a collection of a number of these heartwarming stories. One tale describes the miraculous survival of a child with a serious illness, whom the doctors had given up on. Another tells of a mother who lost a child but with Hashem’s help has been able to overcome her terrible pain. Story lines range from looking death in the face and defying it to the invincible strength of a Holocaust survivor.

Over the years, hearing such moving stories has stirred deep emotions inside me. They affected me exactly as did that old Negro spiritual, many years ago in my previous life, sung by Mahalia Jackson:

“He’s got the whole world in His hands; He’s got the whole world in His hands; He’s got you and me, brother, in His hands; He’s got you and me, sister, in His hands; He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

When that beautiful Negro spiritual touched my neshamah (soul), in spite of the chaotic state of world affairs, I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Rather than concern myself with the perplexities of the world, I simply decided to cast my troubles upon Hashem because I know He cares for me – Blessed be His Name! Completing this book is a milestone in my life, having done it while experiencing major setbacks, particularly the loss of a loved one. But, as I was taught by my parents and grandparents at an early age: Only the strong survive. So it is with deep humility and pleasure that I present In Search of Hidden Treasures to you, dear reader.


Journey to the Land of My Soul
(In Hard Cover, E-Book, and audio read by Ahuvah Gray)

African American Delores/Ahuva Gray- Jewish convert/giyores & formally an ordaned minister- tells the incredible story of her spiritual journey to Judaism.

Yom Kippur was approaching; it was to be the first time I would fast on that holiest of days. While eating my last meal for the next twenty-five hours, I wondered what it would be like. The walk to the synagogue seemed so strange. The streets were absolutely silent, with an other-worldly serenity and calm.

The synagogue was enveloped in the same remarkable peace and quiet I had felt walking through the streets. The cantor began to chant a soft melody called Kol Nidrei. Every Hebrew word seemed to penetrate my soul and cleanse it of all residue. I was completely divested of anything from my past. Spiritually, I knew what was going on, but to verbalize it would take years and much more spiritual fine-tuning.

I sobbed uncontrollably throughout the entire length of the singing. When I finally stopped, I looked around for Avigail. There wasn’t a face that I recognized. A lovely lady standing next to me motioned wordlessly, as if to ask, “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, I can’t explain this. There’s nothing you can do,” I answered aloud. I didn’t know at that time that one shouldn’t talk during Kol Nidrei. Baruch Hashem, now I know.

To console me, my newfound friend put her arm around my shoulder and gave me a warm embrace. That was exactly what I needed. I looked at her, and we exchanged smiles. There was no need for words. I couldn’t explain to her or anyone else what was happening inside of me. Although it was the first time in my life I had heard the melody, it was as though my neshamah knew Kol Nidrei. I had no idea at the time that the prayer was a declaration of the nullification of past and future vows and oaths, but at that moment I felt my soul experiencing something that I had been awaiting my entire life. Much later, I figured out what was going on: by nullifying all my previous commitments, I was enabling my soul to return to its Jewish roots.

When I left the service that night, I wished the other congregants a “chatimah tovah,” blessing them that they would be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for the next year. I felt I was saying it as a Jew. I walked down the street knowing that I would never forget that night as long as I lived. The peace that lingered in the air on my way back to the hotel surpassed all my understanding. I couldn’t hear a bird; there were no planes, no cars. Even the leaves on the trees weren’t moving. I said to myself very softly, “I know who my God is. This is what it will be like when Mashiach comes. The peace of the Almighty is in this place.”

The essence of my new realization gripped me. In my bliss, I began reciting the prophet Isaiah, chapter 40, which I knew and loved: “Every valley will be raised, and every mountain and hill will be lowered; the crooked will become straight and heights will become valley. The glory of God will be revealed, and all flesh together will see that the mouth of God has spoken.” I felt those holy words depicted what had happened in my life. Every valley - the doubts and worries - had been raised. The mountains - the haughtiness, the feeling of pride - had been lowered. Crooked places represented the places I had traversed where I hadn’t belonged. The heights of conceit had been leveled to valleys. Only God’s glory was imminent in my life. Only Hashem’s glory!

As I continued to bask in the serenity and peace, it suddenly occurred to me that I had been headed down this path my entire life. It had taken me forty-eight years to search and seek out the truth. I thought of all the endless researching and running to find cross-references in order to understand Bible verses. The years of sleepless nights spent pondering the Bible and things that seemed unfathomable had culminated in a beautiful crescendo with the sound of Kol Nidrei, the haunting chant that struck the chords of my heart. I knew that my God was real! It all made sense - the little game I used to play when I first started studying the Bible. My childish game of Abraham being my great-grandfather, and my walking hand-in-hand with him the breadth and length of the Holy Land, had come true. The event I had hoped for my entire life had arrived.

The words of Ruth to Naomi which I had read so many times before in my Bible were now my words: “For wherever you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people are my people, and your God is my God.” The Jewish people were my people.


Gifts of a Stranger

In her newest book Gifts of a Stranger, an African-American convert to Judaism and beloved speaker brings us gifts, wondrous insights, and stories, both humorous and poignant, as she inspires her fellow Jews through her far-flung travels around the globe.


My Sister the Jew

When people looked at Delores Gray, they saw a dynamic
corporate executive, a devoted African-American minister,
an American success story. But there was another side to this
granddaughter of Mississippi sharecroppers- a yearning soul
that longed for something she could not name. As a child she
dreamed of walking through the Holy Land and felt something
profound stir within her.
The story of how Delores Gray, a minister from Chicago and
Los Angeles, became Ahuvah Gray, a Torah-Observant Jew
living in the holy city of Jerusalem, is a compelling and fascinating
one. It is a tale of earthquakes, both physical and spiritual, a story
of friendship and of almost unbelievable hashgachah pratis ( Divine
Providence). In My Sister, the Jew, Ahuvah shares with us her
journey of discovery, allowing us to look at her life with wonder
and astonishment-and to look at our own lives with renewed
inspiration and faith.

"Knowing Ahuvah Gray is a spiritual adventure...
Presenting the heroines of the Bible has always been a challenge...
Ahuvah is one of those heroines. Her story cannot fail to inspire us
to make our own lives a bit bigger."
Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller
Leturer at Neve Yerushalayim and author of More Precious than Pearls

 

 

Ahuvah Gray