I Haven’t Left My House for 11 Days
3 weeks ago Mom died, and 11 days ago I came back home to Israel. That means I’m quarantined, not allowed to leave my home for at least one more day, depending on whether the corona test I did today comes out negative. It is no fun losing your mom, and it’s no fun either […]
Read MoreNot Simple
I’ve received so many beautiful, touching condolence notes since Mom passed away earlier this month. But today I received one that moved me to tears, from a neighbor who never even met my mom. In a text message which simultaneously said so little but yet managed to express everything, she wrote: “שולחת חיבוק. לא פשוט […]
Read MoreThe Lost Photo of Mom and Me
This summer, my cousin sent me this long-lost photo of mom holding me as a baby. Looking at this photo moved me deeply then, and breaks my heart now. Since nobody will ever love me as completely, as unconditionally, as a mother loves her child.
Read MoreMom’s Funeral and My Broken Necklace
Before mom died, I had been feeling for a few weeks like the world was random. That everything’s up for grabs. But after mom died, it was suddenly eminently clear to me that Hashem runs the world. So many otherwise inexplicable things were taking place, how could it be otherwise? For example, at mom’s funeral, […]
Read MoreThe Book on Mom’s Bedside Table when She Died
My mom’s sweetest childhood memories and her dearest lifelong friends came from her Zionist youth group–HaNoar HaTsioni. But by the time I was growing up, that wasn’t a side I saw so much of mom. I don’t remember Israel being a topic of conversation or much interest. But when I made aliya, all of a […]
Read MoreBurying Mom
It’s hard for me to think of things I don’t like about being an Orthodox Jew, but until mom died, I had a biggie. I didn’t tell anybody, really, because sharing the thing I really didn’t like about Judaism would have been as taboo as saying “I’m Orthodox but I love bacon,” or “I’m Orthodox […]
Read MoreI Think Mom Knew She Was About to Die
This is a strange story, I know. But here goes: I think my mom knew that she was about to die, and I think she tried to tell me so during our final real conversation about a week before she passed away. But first, some family history. When my mom had been 25, her family […]
Read MoreTelling Mom’s Patients She’d Passed Away
My mom, Gladys Arak Freedman, passed away last Thursday, but that didn’t stop the regular bombardment of phone calls, faxes and Emails for Dr. Arak throughout her shiva. Many times a day the phone would ring as loud as an old mechanical alarm clock with incoming faxes or calls from patients. At first, before the […]
Read MoreA Granddaughter’s Eulogy for Mom
This morning was my mom’s funeral, it was such a beautiful ceremony for such a beautiful person. One of the highlights, I thought, was the eulogy written by my 22-year-old daughter, Hadas, about going on a walk around the block with Savta. Here’s what she wrote: I have a strong memory of me and savta […]
Read MoreSome Sad News
My mom, Gladys Arak Freedman, suffered a massive stroke on Wednesday and passed away peacefully the following day. I’m on my way now to Baltimore for the funeral and shiva. I’m sure I’ll be sharing more with you about the remarkable woman my mom was, as well as an incredible story about her death–at a […]
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