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
Category Archives: guest essays
guest kaddish: velvet marquesa flicka storm, 11 august 2005–9 april 2015
Dad (Paul F. Vang) wrote this remembrance of a darned sweet black lab, whom I named (see below) and will always remember as the best lap-lab ever. There was nothing quite like relaxing in a recliner with Flicka stretched full-length on your lap. We miss you, Flicka. Continue reading
guest kaddish: Gudrun Fossum Vang (16 June 1905–3 April 1972)
Dad wrote this remembrance of his mother on her Yahrtzeit in an email to the family last week, and he agreed with my suggestion to post it here. Continue reading
Posted in guest essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged Gudrun Fossum Vang, Lou Gehrig's disease, yahrtzeit
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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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daily kaddish: for Lillian Isabel (October 18–21, 2011)
My friend Cori Kesler wrote me a few days before I made this recording for her, and I’m really sorry that I got so far behind in posting these daily Kaddishim that I’m only now sharing it with her almost a month later. Continue reading
Oh, and one more thing…
A guest essay from Lori Jennings-Emery, who knew Steve Jobs from her eleven years working at Apple: The past few days, I’ve read a lot of stories about Steve Jobs and the kinds of memories folks have of him. I’ve been thinking about my various encounters with Steve, trying to decide which story to share. Continue reading
guest essay: Dude!
Don’t assume rabbis, or any Jewish people for that matter, will be mensches when you need them to be. Continue reading
Posted in guest essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged Chabad, daughters, ethics, Lori Goldwyn, mothers, Neptune Society
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in guest essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged grandfather, grief, Hy Glantz, life cycle, mesothelioma
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a kaddish for Randy — guest post from Tim Lavalli
A good friend died this week. He took his own life. We are all shocked and saddened by his passing and we are all asking ourselves – why? Which is to say, we are having the normal human reaction to … Continue reading
A Kaddish for my mother, Ruth Leavitt Kadish
It’s been 7 months since my mother’s passing on September 19, 2010. Continue reading
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some perspectives from the shikse’s dad
Dad and I were talking about the “kaddish in two-part harmony” project the other night, and he muttered something about spending a career dealing with death. I’d never quite put it together that his thirty years in the Social Security Administration had had him dealing with death all the time—well, duh! So I asked him to write a guest essay about what that was like. Continue reading
Posted in guest essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged career, dads, dandelions, death, death and dying, grief, grumpy grampa, Social Security Administration, undertaker
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