When the family lived in Los Angeles, the tzaddik showed early signs of what was to come. Only it was a bit more theatrical down there in Southern California. The tzaddik produced an opera, believe it or not—the opera David, by Darius Milhaud—at the Hollywood Bowl. He even borrowed back the bible story engravings that…
Author: mira
Mira Z. Amiras is Professor of Comparative Religious Studies and founder of the Middle East Studies Program at San Jose State University. She is past-president of the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness, and has served on the Executive Council of the American Anthropological Association. She is co-founder, with Ovid Jacob, of Beit Malkhut, a study group in Jewish sacred text. She's most attached to the creatures of her body and her household — first and foremost, her kids, of course: Michael and Rayna — and then the other folks large and small of various species, including Roshi and Vlad, a whole lot of hummingbirds, the old parrot who lives next door, and a beautiful garden that does what it will.
daily kaddish: for amy winehouse
All that potential down the drain… A kaddish for Amy Winehouse.
kaddish, pain, and ascension
I was very moved by Erin’s kaddish for the old Bay Bridge — which, of course, wasn’t about the bridge at all. And I thought, oy, what a can of worms this kaddish has opened. Daily kaddish may well be harmful to the health, I thought. Every day you are in mourning, focusing on that…
a kaddish for harry potter 7.2 — and the mum who inspired it all
The very last Harry Potter film ever opened today. And yes — I saw it. And I’ll see it again tomorrow. The ritual of seeing HP movies on opening day with friends is apparently sacred. And I blew it saying yes to one friend and oops to the other. My attempt at a save is…
a kaddish for summer dreams
All year long I dream of all I’m going to get done in the summer. This happens every single year. I have a stack of books to read that I’m really excited about. After all, I’ve waited all year for this. Add to my summer reading, the reading that I managed not to read last…
a kaddish for trout … and mosquitos
Our most recent kaddish meditation was for fly fisherman Syl Nemes. The original article about him was in Erin’s dad’s blog, and his first paragraph caught my attention. In there, he mentioned at one point encouraging people to share their experiences with fly fishing. And so — I’m going to share mine. I know, I…
a yizkor for Hy Glantz — guest post from Alana Glantz Zussman and Michael Jacob Zussman
Here is the speech we read at Grandpa Hy’s funeral. Hy (his full name was Herman) Glantz was born February 22, 1924 and died July 2, 2011 of mesothelioma. Most likely due to asbestos exposure while working in the Brooklyn Navy Yards in the 1940s. In the Glantz family there is a tradition started by…
yahrtzeit for the moshiach
So. The moshiach died on this day. He actually died on June 12, 1994 — but that’s the wrong calendar. On the Jewish calendar, it was 3 Tammuz, 5754. Which this year works out to July 5th — today. I got an invite from Chabad of the East Bay to come to their Farbrengen and…
the letters
Clearing out biofather’s house. Inventory of everything imaginable. Mostly art, of course — but there’s all the detritus. Up in the studio, where the paintbrushes lived. And the rolls of silk paper and chops and engraving materials. Chemicals. Chinese watercolors. Favorite everythings: scissors, cameras, even silk cord. That was all upstairs. But then I ventured…
I’m all kaddished-out, she said… — the real secret of mourning rituals…
I know I brought this up on my last post — the one on suicides — about just feeling all kaddished-out. And then, hearing of Randy’s suicide, feeling that there was more to say. Much more. But then even that was not sustainable. I mean, here am I — Dr. Doom, as my housemate calls…