kaddish in two-part harmony
A conversation between an anthropologist and a musician along with a growing virtual minyan, on themes of death and dying, grief, ritual, and the interplay between music and words.about
Author Archives: mira
the stones I cannot place
My mother’s ‘passing’ has crippled my writing. And apparently that’s not all. It would be unfair to blame her, per se, because that would be rude. But I’ve had a sneaking suspicion that she’s had a hand in it. Some … Continue reading
oh amy, how could you — a kaddish for amy smith
My plan was that nobody else would die. Ever. My plan was to leave the death-and-dying biz to someone else; give someone else a turn. My plan was that enough was enough. At least for this year. My plan was … Continue reading
and death is so much closer than it was—a kaddish for rebecca fromer
The house is empty. I’m not sure what to do and death is so much closer than it was— The phone isn’t ringing starting 5 AM and every ten minutes or so thereafter Even the delusions have stopped having culminated in … Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony, tzaddik stories
Tagged death, fear, kaddish, mothers, Mrs Tzaddik
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easy come easy go: a kaddish for adrienne cooper
I hadn’t thought about her since we were kids. Hadn’t thought about what might have become of her. What her contribution might be to the world. All I remember is that she was a prima donna when I met her. … Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged Adrienne Cooper, yiddish singer
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nyt remembrances—a kaddish for departed strangers
Today’s online New York Times, front page and center has a spot reserved for readers to place a picture and their remembrances of those who died during the year. It’s an overwhelmingly simple tribute, moving to the core. Each photo … Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged New York Times, remembrance, strangers
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guest kaddish from David Mohr—for Kimba
This is for Kimba. It might seem strange to have a kaddish for a dog, but she really was a part of the family. For more than 15 years, she was my companion. I lived with her longer than anyone … Continue reading
Posted in essays, guest essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged David Mohr, dogs, kaddish, Kimba
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killing you loudly—a kaddish
This is the sound of me wailing. Again. Kaddish project’s over, but death does not just up and disappear. So. Here we are again. Only this time it’s a bit different. They’re killing you as we speak. They’re cutting you … Continue reading
anything, anything but a mystical experience
So. It’s the end of the semester. Students are giving presentations of the projects they’ve been working on all semester long. Or were supposed to be. I know that some of them had struggled mightily with this. Figuring out what … Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged Hebrew aleph-bet, Jewish mysticism, kabbalah, PARDES, the Strangeness Curve
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a mourning mourning morning
At a certain point, I suppose, I just got sick of the whole damned enterprise. And that was the time to step back and write a paper about our process. Which we did. And presented at the Annual Meetings of … Continue reading
like an addiction, it’s hard to stop—
I can’t quite take the pictures down. Can’t quite stop staring at them. Can’t call it an altar exactly, but I know others do. Others have. And others will. How do we stop mourning and put the pictures away? And … Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony, Seymour Fromer z"l, tzaddik stories
Tagged dads, letting go, Mira Z. Amiras, mourning, Seymour Fromer, tzaddik
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