funeral
Lori passed away Sunday morning. Turns out the last time she was lucid and communicating was when Eri and I were there on Friday. She drifted off to sleep that last time with Eri in her line of sight knowing we were there with her. That's a very moving thought.
I have to say that the Jewish funeral service was more comforting than any Christian service I've attended. I rather like the idea of the deceased being taken to be with God immediately rather than having to wait for judgment or resurrection. The language of the ceremony is lovely and it's a very short ceremony without a lot of fanfare. At the end, everyone who attends is asked to help make sure the casket is covered with dirt so that we can see that the person is truly gone from us. I thought that brought very good closure. Much better than a handful of symbolic dirt and seeing the casket down in the hole.
At the funeral service, the Rabbi mentioned Eri's visit several times in the context of a "mitzvah" - a law of Judaism. I had to go look this up. Turns out visiting the sick or doing acts of kindness falls under the mitzvah "To emulate His ways". A friend who has converted and gone to Hebrew school fleshed this out a bit and told me that the act of 'bringing joy to a place of sorrow' fulfills the law in this context.
I have to say that the Jewish funeral service was more comforting than any Christian service I've attended. I rather like the idea of the deceased being taken to be with God immediately rather than having to wait for judgment or resurrection. The language of the ceremony is lovely and it's a very short ceremony without a lot of fanfare. At the end, everyone who attends is asked to help make sure the casket is covered with dirt so that we can see that the person is truly gone from us. I thought that brought very good closure. Much better than a handful of symbolic dirt and seeing the casket down in the hole.
At the funeral service, the Rabbi mentioned Eri's visit several times in the context of a "mitzvah" - a law of Judaism. I had to go look this up. Turns out visiting the sick or doing acts of kindness falls under the mitzvah "To emulate His ways". A friend who has converted and gone to Hebrew school fleshed this out a bit and told me that the act of 'bringing joy to a place of sorrow' fulfills the law in this context.