DOCSLIB.ORG

Shabbat Parashat Kedoshim April 28, 2018 - 13 Iyyar 5778

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Shabbat Parashat Kedoshim April 28, 2018 - 13 Iyyar 5778 Shabbat Parashat Kedoshim April 28, 2018 - 13 Iyyar 5778 By: Rabbi Edward Feinstein, Lecturer in Rabbinics, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, American Jewish University Reprint of Kedoshim 2016/5776 The Circle of Concern Torah Reading: Leviticus 16:1 - 20:27 Haftarah Reading: Amos 9:7 - 15 Enter into the great cathedrals of Europe – St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Notre Dame in Paris, San Marcos in Venice – what do you experience? The cathedral is a visceral presentation of a theology, a vision of the universe. Soaring vaulted ceiling, giant columns, colossal statues of saints and martyrs, luminous stained glass images of Scriptural heroes, all articulate a spirituality of contrast. We are small, insignificant, ephemeral creatures no better than insects on the floor. We are impure, corrupt, stained with sin. Who are we to approach God? God is magnificent, distant, and fearsome in judgment. In the cathedral, it is only the figure of Christ that mediates my miserable human insignificance and God's unfathomable majesty. Holiness, taught the scholar Rudolf Otto, lies in the contrast between our "utter creatureliness" and God's frightening "tremendum". Holiness is the shiver of vulnerability in the face of the infinite. In the Hebrew, the word for "holiness" is Kedusha. This is the key term in this week's Torah reading: "Kedoshim tihyu -- You will be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus 19:2) Kedusha is the highest spiritual virtue in Judaism. It is the singular quality of God that we are commanded to imitate. For all of God’s infinity, this quality of God lies within our potential. In this one quality, we can be as God. But what it is? What is kedusha? The conventional definition of kedusha, holiness, has to do with separateness – that which is set apart for special purposes. That which is holy is restricted. The Sabbath is Shabbat kodesh, a holy day set aside from the days of the week. Israel is am kadosh, a holy people, set apart from the nations of the world. But there is another way to look upon the very same phenomena – the obverse of the same definition. Just look at how the word kadosh or kedusha is used in Jewish life: A family, a havurah, a circle of loved ones and friends gather at a Shabbat or holiday table to celebrate life, to share our stories, our laughter, our tears, the triumphs and failures of our lives. We raise a cup of wine and recite a prayer of sanctification. But it isn't the wine that is sacred. The prayer affirms the holiness of the circle around the table -- the bonds that hold us together as family and friends. That prayer is called Kiddush. Two separate, independent individuals -- from different families, different cultures, even different planets, he from Mars, and she from Venus -- find wholeness in one another. They pledge to share life together. A ring is placed on a finger -- a ring whole and unbroken symbolizing lives and dreams indelibly intertwined. The tightly drawn circle of the self is unlocked to include another whose happiness becomes my happiness, and whose suffering becomes my suffering. And we recite: Haray at mi-kudeshet lee -- "With this ring, we are bonded in sanctity." This miraculous alchemy bonding two into one is called in Jewish tradition, Kiddushin. When a loved one dies, we refuse to let the catastrophe of death be the last word. We will not sever our bonds of loyalty and love. We will not lose our memories of shared wisdom, warmth, strength, vision. We rise in synagogue -- in the midst of our people -- to recite a prayer that affirms the triumph of life over death, of hope over despair. The prayer is called Kaddish. Kiddush, Kiddushin, Kaddish, Kadosh, Kedusha , all mean holiness, and all signify bonding -- the opening of self to embrace and hold another. Around every human being is an invisible circle, a circle of intimate concern -- the people we care for, the ones we define as ours. For some, the circumference of that circle is narrow. It includes only the individual self, its diameter reaching only to the end of the nose. For others, the circle includes family, community, and nation. For a very few, it encompasses the whole of the world. God is the infinite circle of concern. Adonai Echad, God is the circle that embraces and cares for all life. The aspiration to kedusha invites us to a life more Godly. It invites us to open and widen our circle of concern. The aspiration is rooted in the conviction that the wider our circle, the holier our life becomes. The bigger the circle, the more meaningful life becomes. Each time the tight circle of self is opened, God enters our life. What is the opposite of holiness? At the end of Sabbath, we recite a blessing on the distinction between the holy and the ordinary --hamavdeel bein kodesh l'chol. The Hebrew word for the opposite of holy -- for the profane, the mundane, the ordinary - is Hol. Hol literally means "sand". Try and hold a handful of sand, what happens? Atomized, individuated, disconnected, unbound, the grains slip away. That's the opposite of holiness. Just a few verses after Kedoshim tihyu in Leviticus, is the Bible’s highest moral ideal: Va’ahavt L’re’acha Kamocha. "You will love your neighbor as yourself." This the Torah’s objective, the divine dream for humanity: That we might come to realize a circle of self that is ever-growing. Every human transaction must lead to the realization of a world in which we are one, bound together in care and concern. God is one, and God invites humanity to become one. A world made one is the only cathedral God ever commanded us to build. Shabbat Shalom! Rabbi Edward Feinstein, is senior rabbi of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California. He has served on the faculty of the Ziegler Rabbinical School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University since 1990 and is an instructor for the Wexner Heritage Program, lecturing widely across the United States. In 1982, Rabbi Feinstein became the founding director of the Solomon Schechter Academy of Dallas, Texas, building the school’s enrollment from 40 to over 500 in eight years, and winning national recognition as a center of educational excellence. In 1990, he assumed the position of executive director of Camp Ramah in California, the largest Jewish camp and conference center in the western United States. He came to Valley Beth Shalom in 1993 at the invitation of the renowned Rabbi Harold Schulweis, whom he succeeded as the congregation’s senior rabbi in 2005. Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies American Jewish University 15600 Mulholland Drive Bel Air, CA 90077 310-440-1218 www.aju.edu/ziegler Share this email: Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove® Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails. View this email online. 15600 Mulholland Dr. Bel Air, CA | 90077 US This email was sent to [email protected]. To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 990-PF I Return of Private Foundation
    EXTENSION Return of Private Foundation WNS 952 Form 990-PF I or Section 4947(a)(1) Nonexempt Charitable Trust Treated as a Private Foundation 2012 Department of the Treasury Internal Reventie Service Note . The foundation may be able to use a copy of this return to satisfy state reporting req For calendar year 2012 or tax year beginning 12/1/2012 , and ending 11/30/2013 Name of foundation A Employer identification number Milken Famil y Foundation 95-4073646 Number and street (or P 0 box number if mail is not delivered to street address ) Room /suite B Telephone number ( see instructions) 1250 Fourth St 3rd Floor 310-570-4800 City or town, state , and ZIP code C If exemption application is pending , check here ► Santa Monica CA 90401 G Check all that apply . J Initial return j initial return of a former public charity D 1. Foreign organizations , check here ► Final return E Amended return 2 . Foreign organizations meeting the 85 % test, Address change Name change check here and attach computation ► H Check type of organization 0 Section 501(c)(3) exempt private foundation E If private foundation status was terminated Section 4947( a)(1) nonexempt charitable trust E] Other taxable private foundation under section 507(b)(1)(A). check here ► EJ I Fair market value of all assets at end J Accounting method Q Cash M Accrual F If the foundation is in a 60-month termination of year (from Part ll, col (c), Other (specify) under section 507(b)(1)(B), check here ---------------------------- ► llne 16) ► $ 448,596,028 Part 1 column d must be on cash basis Revenue The (d ) Disbursements Analysis of and Expenses ( total of (a) Revenue and (b ) Net investment (c) Adjusted net for chartable amounts in columns (b).
    [Show full text]
  • Parshat Mishpatim 5773
    Written by: Ruth Michaels Editor: David Michaels Parshat Acharey Mot-Kedoshim 5778 At the beginning of this parsha verse 2 states, “Speak to all the congregation of the to cleave to him (u'ldavkah bo). Moreover we are duty bound to do all that is good and children of Israel and say to them: holy shall you be... ". Rav Shimshon Refuel Hirsch perfect ...simply because G-d commanded us to do so." comments that only at the giving of the very first Law which Israel received, the command of the Pesach offering, do we find the order written in similar terms ,to He continues to ask " Why does the Torah say Kedoshim T'hihyu?" “You should be announce the Law to the whole community. The reason for this is because this holy...”. He answers that one should not think that kedoshim t'hihyu refers solely to admonition, "holy shall you be “ refers to the highest degree of moral human perfection forbidden sexual relations due to its juxtaposition to the laws at the end of Acharei Mot and every individual needs to be included in this call to very height of absolute morality. but this phrase refers to each of the Ten Utterances, This means the Jewish people should be holy and sanctify themselves in all matters. Rabbi M Miller suggests that Moshe had to speak to the whole congregation, to each one individually, because in the question of self restraint even from pleasures generally The parsha of Kedoshim follows the sedras from Vaiyikra to Acharei Mot. What is the permitted, each individual must know his own nature...detect in himself the inclinations significance of this order? According to Rav Shimshon Refuel Hirsch, the morality is that threaten to degrade him and exercise on himself those restraints that will restore learned from G-d’s word which rests beneath the wings of the keruvim.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Camp Ramah on the Attitudes and Practices Of
    122 Impact: Ramah in the Lives of Campers, Staff, and Alumni MITCHELL CoHEN The Impact of Camp Ramah on the Attitudes and Practices of Conservative Jewish College Students Adapted from the foreword to Research Findings on the Impact of Camp Ramah: A Companion Study to the 2004 “Eight Up” Report, a report for the National Ramah Commission, Inc. of The Jewish Theological Seminary, by Ariela Keysar and Barry A. Kosmin, 2004. The network of Ramah camps throughout North America (now serving over 6,500 campers and over 1,800 university-aged staff members) has been described as the “crown jewel” of the Conservative Movement, the most effec- tive setting for inspiring Jewish identity and commitment to Jewish communal life and Israel. Ismar Schorsch, chancellor emeritus of The Jewish Theological Seminary, wrote: “I am firmly convinced that in terms of social import, in terms of lives affected, Ramah is the most important venture ever undertaken by the Seminary” (“An Emerging Vision of Ramah,” in The Ramah Experience, 1989). Research studies written by Sheldon Dorph in 1976 (“A Model for Jewish Education in America”), Seymour Fox and William Novak in 1997 (“Vision at the Heart: Lessons from Camp Ramah on the Power of Ideas in Shaping Educational Institutions”), and Steven M. Cohen in 1998 (“Camp Ramah and Adult Jewish Identity: Long Term Influences”), and others all credit Ramah as having an incredibly powerful, positive impact on the devel- opment of Jewish identity. Recent Research on the Influence of Ramah on Campers and Staff I am pleased to summarize the findings of recent research on the impact of Ramah camping on the Jewish practices and attitudes of Conservative Jewish youth.
    [Show full text]
  • TORAH INSIGHTS for a MODERN AGE by DAVID ROTENBERG
    TORAH INSIGHTS FOR A MODERN AGE By DAVID ROTENBERG Integrated Studies Final Project Essay (MAIS 700) submitted to Dr. Mike Gismondi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts – Integrated Studies Athabasca, Alberta August, 2013 Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………... 5 Essay One: Joseph vs. George – A Modern Look at Faith ………………….. 11 Essay Two: What’s in a Name? ……………………………………………….. 18 Essay Three: Talk to Strangers ………………………………………………... 23 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………… 29 References ………………………………………………………………………. 34 2 ABSTRACT Today’s Jewish community features very different demographics from previous generations’ due to large sections of the population being unaffiliated, non-observant, or “Modern Orthodox”. As a result, any efforts to reconnect the unaffiliated and/or reach these other segments of the community for spiritual direction and Torah education must be targeted in new strategic ways. This project employs both the scriptural and comedic knowledge of its author, Rabbi David Rotenberg, a semi-professional stand-up comic, to develop contemporary Torah insights targeted at a modern audience. The project focuses on lessons applicable to three of the 54 weekly portions of the Chumash (Five Books of Moses), Vayigash, Kedoshim, and Emor, each developed as an independent essay, although numerous additional relevant sources are also discussed. Each essay establishes an accepted understanding of the relevant Torah concepts, rooted in the text and traditional commentaries. This conventional thinking is then challenged with original questions, and comedic sources are introduced as a form of unorthodox commentary. The essays conclude by demonstrating a connection and revealing the newly-inspired message. 3 Through the substantive content yielded by the integration of humour sources with Biblical content, the original query – whether new Torah insights could be developed to appeal to a modern audience – can be answered in the affirmative.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Summer Camping and Civil Rights: How Summer Camps Launched a Transformation in American Jewish Culture
    Jewish Summer Camping and Civil Rights: How Summer Camps Launched a Transformation in American Jewish Culture Riv-Ellen Prell Introduction In the first years of the nineteen fifties, American Jewish families, in unprecedented numbers, experienced the magnetic pull of suburbanization and synagogue membership.1 Synagogues were a force field particularly to attract children, who received not only a religious education to supplement public school, but also a peer culture grounded in youth groups and social activities. The denominations with which both urban and suburban synagogues affiliated sought to intensify that force field in order to attract those children and adolescents to particular visions of an American Judaism. Summer camps, especially Reform and Conservative ones, were a critical component of that field because educators and rabbis viewed them as an experiment in socializing children in an entirely Jewish environment that reflected their values and the denominations‟ approaches to Judaism. Scholars of American Jewish life have produced a small, but growing literature on Jewish summer camping that documents the history of some of these camps, their cultural and aesthetic styles, and the visions of their leaders.2 Less well documented is the socialization that their leaders envisioned. What happened at camp beyond Sabbath observance, crafts, boating, music, and peer culture? The content of the programs and classes that filled the weeks, and for some, the months at camp has not been systematically analyzed. My study of program books and counselor evaluations of two camping movements associated with the very denominations that flowered following 1 World War II has uncovered the summer camps‟ formulations of some of the interesting dilemmas of a post-war American Jewish culture.
    [Show full text]
  • 042421 Achrei Mot-Kedoshim
    Candle Lighting W E L C O M E T O T H E D A T M I N Y A N ! (earliest) 6:18 pm SHABBAT ACHREI MOT-KEDOSHIM (latest) 7:28 pm April 24, 2021 // 12 Iyar 5781 DAT Minyan - 560 S. Monaco Pkwy., Denver, CO 80224 - 720-941-0479 - www.datminyan.org Havdalah 8:30 pm We are excited to have new space for our shul in the main sanctuary at TRI for weekday and We invite men and women to sign Shabbat minyanim. Our deepest thanks to The Jewish Experience for hosting us over the last many up HERE for our in-person daily months. Thank you to Rabbi Serota for welcoming the DAT Minyan into his building! and Shabbat minyan at TRI, located at 295 S. Locust st, and our additional Shabbat Outdoor D'var Torah by Rabbi Sacks zt"l Auxiliary Minyan, located in the Rabbi Sacks z’’l had prepared a full year of Covenant & Conversation for 5781, based on his book Polotsky backyard at 7369 E Byers Lessons in Leadership. The Office of Rabbi Sacks will carry on distributing these essays each week, Ave. All davening times and classes so people around the world can continue to learn and be inspired by his Torah. are published on our website and It was a unique, unrepeatable moment of leadership at its highest height. For forty days calendar. Moses had been communing with God, receiving from Him the Law written on tablets of stone. Then God informed him that the people had just made a Golden Calf.
    [Show full text]
  • Kedoshim Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:1 - 20:27
    Kedoshim VaYikra (Leviticus) 19:1 - 20:27 Parsha Kedoshim continues the transition that we have followed in this section of the book of VaYikra, from a work primarily directed toward the Kohanim, to one intended for the ordinary Israelite. The people of Israel were to be holy, because G-d is holy. That is the reason and the justification for a series of ethical, ritual and religious rules that comprise this and the following parshiyot in YaYikra. Whereas we might distinguish between the different types of Mitzvot, in Judaism they are all equal, and all equally binding. The people are to observe the commandments and the laws of the sacrifices. They are to provide for the poor and the stranger; leaving the edges of the fields unharvested and the fallen fruits of their vineyards ungleaned, so that the needy could come and gather food. One of the best-known and most beloved verses in the Torah is found in Kedoshim. “V’Ahavta L’rayecha Kamocha …You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (19:18). According to Rabbi Akiba, one of the greatest Rabbis of the period of the Mishnah, this is the greatest teaching in the entire Torah. Indeed, the idea that we all have responsibilities to all people, and the idea that there can be no service to G-d while simultaneously practicing cruelty to others, is one of Judaism’s greatest gifts to the world. Kedoshim warns against insulting the deaf or placing a stumbling block before the blind. Respect and deference must be shown for the elderly.
    [Show full text]
  • Welcome Letter
    Welcome Letter Dear Guests, Welcome to Passover 5779 at Camp Ramah in California! We’re so glad you’re here. This program book includes all of the information you need to ensure a relaxing and meaningful stay. If you are joining us for the first time, we hope this book answers many of your questions. While it’s difficult to capture the warm, engaging spirit of our community on paper, these pages will give you a sense of what’s in store. We thank the entire Camp Ramah in California community for building such an inspirational, creative and diverse program. This special annual retreat demonstrates the vision our founders and board members had of offering year- round Jewish experiential living and learning programs. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help you enjoy your stay. We hope you take full advantage of all Camp Ramah in California has to offer. If you need assistance, please visit our concierge desk in the Ostrow lounge or locate one of the Camp Ramah in California staff members. We look forward to celebrating a meaningful holiday together. Chag Sameach! Kara Rosenwald Teri Naftalin Program Coordinator Hospitality Coordinator Rabbi Joe Menashe Ariella Moss Peterseil Randy Michaels Executive Director Camp Director Chief Operations & Financial Officer Passover at Ramah Camp Ramah in California’s warm, relaxed Passover community draws multigenerational guests from across the country and internationally, and includes singles, couples, families, empty nesters, college students, and grandparents. We welcome new participants every year with open arms, and are also delighted to reunite with friends we see each year who have become extended family.
    [Show full text]
  • Musical Instruments and Recorded Music As Part of Shabbat and Festival Worship
    Musical Instruments and Recorded Music as Part of Shabbat and Festival Worship Rabbis Elie Kaplan Spitz and Elliot N. Dorff Voting Draft - 2010. She’alah: May we play musical instruments or use recorded music on Shabbat and hagim as part of synagogue worship? If yes, what are the limitations regarding the following: 1. Repairing a broken string or reed 2. Tuning string or wind instruments 3. Playing electrical instruments and using prerecorded music 4. Carrying the instrument 5. Blowing the shofar 6. Qualifications and pay of musicians I. Introduction The use of musical instruments as an accompaniment to services on Shabbat and sacred holidays (yom tov) is increasing among Conservative synagogues. During a recent United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s biennial conference, a Shabbat worship service included singing the traditional morning prayers with musician accompaniment on guitar and electronic keyboard.1 Previously, a United Synagogue magazine article profiled a synagogue as a model of success that used musical instruments to enliven its Shabbat services.2 The matter-of-fact presentation written by its spiritual leader did not suggest any tension between the use of musical instruments and halakhic norms. While as a movement we have approved the use of some instruments on Shabbat, such as the organ, we remain in need of guidelines to preserve the sanctity of the holy days. Until now, the CJLS (Committee of Jewish Law and Standards) has not analyzed halakhic questions that relate to string and wind instruments, such as 1 See “Synagogues Become Rock Venues: Congregations Using Music to Revitalize Membership Rolls,” by Rebecca Spence, Forward, January 4, 2008, A3.
    [Show full text]
  • Parashat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim
    In the Bible there are other similar verses with the same meaning, for e idea is that nothing can break through these boundaries, this is a Being a Good A Very Rich Torah Portion example: Can’t I Just be a Good Person? legalistic approach. In this portion we also learn about the concept of holiness. e following One of the questions that always arises in every religious discussion is the e second way is to understand that life is the goal behind them. God Person is Only famous saying appears in our parasha: “I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by following: If there's a person who does good, who seeks to help people, isn't presents us with the formula for a good, healthy, ecient, and correct life. If which the person who obeys them will live.” - Ezekiel 20:11 that enough? e answer is simple - he only fullls half of the work. Half of the Job “…Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” - Leviticus a person lives according to the way God presents, he will be considered a [NIV] good person. 19:2b [NIV] He keeps the laws, but what about the decrees that sanctify people and bring them closer to God? You cannot separate the two, the decrees and Parashat Today, I want to discuss two questions: What are the decrees and laws that If there are commandments or situations that clash with morality, courtesy, laws go together. Acharei Mot-Kedoshim As a result of this holy requirement, we have a rather immense collection of we are to keep and obey? Second, what does it truly meant to live and abide life, or the value of life.
    [Show full text]
  • January 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 Shemot
    January 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 Shemot 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Va’eira 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rosh Chodesh Bo Shevat 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Beshalach 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Tu B’Shevat Yitro February 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mishpatim 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Rosh Chodesh Rosh Chodesh Terumah Adar I Adar I 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Tetzaveh 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Purim Katan Shushan Purim Ki Tisa Katan 28 29 March 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 3 4 5 Vayakhel 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rosh Chodesh Rosh Chodesh Pikudei Adar II Adar II 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Vayikra Zachor 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Purim Shushan Purim Tzav 27 28 29 30 31 April 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 Shmini Parah 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tazriah Rosh Chodesh Nisan 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Metzorah Shabbat Hagadol 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Erev Pesach Pesach 1st Seder 2nd Seder Omer: 1 (tonight) 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Pesach Chol HaMoed Chol HaMoed Chol HaMoed Chol HaMoed Pesach Pesach Omer: 2 (tonight) Omer: 3 (tonight) Omer: 4 (tonight) Omer: 5 (tonight) Omer: 6 (tonight) Omer: 7 (tonight) Omer: 8 (tonight) May 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Acharei Mot Omer: 9 (tonight) Omer: 10 (tonight) Omer: 11 (tonight) Omer: 12 (tonight) Omer: 13 (tonight) Omer: 14 (tonight) Omer: 15 (tonight) 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rosh Chodesh Rosh Chodesh Kedoshim Iyar Iyar Omer: 16 (tonight) Omer: 17 (tonight) Omer: 18 (tonight) Omer: 19 (tonight) Omer: 20
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Acharei Mot-Kedoshim I Have Always Been Fascinated That This
    Acharei Mot-Kedoshim I have always been fascinated that this parsha, largely about the ritual of the High Priest on Yom Kippur, begins with and is called Acharei Mot — After the death of Aaron’s two sons Nadav and Avihu… You will recall that 3 parshiot ago, in Parashat Shemini, two fo Aaron’s four sons approached the altar with strange fire, esh zara, and were instantaneously immolated. Two questions immediately arise: in what way is the service of the high priest on Yom Kippur connected to the death of Aaron’s sons? is he atoning for their sin? If so, that sin has never been made clear, and certainly he, Aaron, has not been implicated in their actions. 2. Nadav and Avihu were killed three parshiot ago. Why bring it up now in relationship to Yom Kippur instead of immediately following their deaths? I will answer or at least attempt to address these questions but I want to say at the outset that my understanding of these words changed dramatically after my father-in-law died unexpectedly twelve years ago. I traveled home from St Louis to Cleveland following the funeral and a few days of shiva with the girls so that they could go back to camp and I could go back to work and David followed us a day or two later. I remember sitting in the airport, outside of the shiva home for the first time, and feeling so lonely and alienated. Nobody was asking me how I was because nobody knew what had just happened.
    [Show full text]