Life

It’s not that I have nothing to write about. Life here has been busy. Shavuot was delightful with pleasant guests and good food. I made blintzes for the first time in years and it was fun! Preparations for our trip to the US are continuing with all sorts of details to be nailed down and papers and props to pack (we are bringing all sorts of surprises.)

But what has been occupying my thoughts and has been the subtext of my life for the last few weeks, and particularly for the last couple of weeks is a struggle that someone I know is going through. Her friend is dying. And it isn’t at all like Hollywood where all of the process takes around 2 hours. It’s a process that is excruciating. Her dear friend has ALS and it is cruelly snuffing out life- a bit at a time. No longer able to walk around or talk, her friend can still write notes and they are the only way out of the prison that ALS creates. For everyone- for her dear friend, for the family members, for friends, and for people who are only secondarily affected, it is a terrible, emotionally painful time. Fortunately, the family has the services of dedicated hospice workers who help lighten the emotional burden with their caring.

Last night I saw a former student of mine at the bar mitzvah party of the son of a mutual friend. This former student and her husband, an oncologist, have started an institute in Jerusalem that trains professionals and lay volunteers in ways to assist people with terminal illnesses and their family members. They have been able to receive funding from outside sources and are helping tens of families at any given time. I realized once again what a wonderful thing they are doing.

This is one of the absurdities of life. As the same time most of us carry on our daily activities with the joys and the frustrations that accompany them, others are sitting at the edge of the universe and feeling the pull of inevitability.