Why? Reflections On The Loss Of A Loved one

An attempt to obey this compassionate, humane instruction of our Talmudic Sages -- to reach out through the written word and offer solace and comfort to others who, like me, have suffered bereavement.

Yet his words did not penetrate. I had no feelings left. I could not think straight. We just sat there, my wife and I, with only one thought: Boruch... Boruch... Why...? Why...?

How can we understand and explain the process of dying? How can we clarify the nature of life after death?

Yes, he is still alive -- it is true -- but not here, with us. How we miss him. We want to feel him, kiss him, embrace him -- physically. Why was he not allowed to live here any longer?

It is easier for people to come with many others. To visit a family alone during the shiva is much more difficult, for what can one say. How can one comfort? There are people who talk about one thing and another. They try to avert our minds from our grief, so that for a while we will not think of what has happened.