Four years after Shirley T.\’s husband died, the anniversary of his death was more painful than she could have anticipated. She spent the day before cooking the foods he loved and somehow navigated emotionally through the anniversary itself.
What is it that allowed this family to stay whole and renew the life in themselves when fate, or God, or a violent man, dealt them unimaginable grief? In this season of renewal and introspection, of fate and faith, what can others facing obstacles of any degree learn from this family\’s remarkable ability to transcend the unthinkable?
Finally, I\’m grateful to the Almighty for having given me such a remarkable mother who, by example, taught her many offspring about the beauty of Judaism, how to lead meaningful lives and how important it is to do chesed for others. May her memory be a blessing.
Briefs
Israel is now stuck between Iraq and a hard place; those in the administration who most uncritically support Israel don\’t know what they\’re doing, and those who have better ideas are more critical of Israel.
I\’m always hearing about a surplus of widows and divorced women, but recently I realized that I have been meeting widowers.
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