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
Tag Archives: death
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
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
5 Comments
daily kaddish: for Syl Nemes, Mr. Soft-Hackle
Today’s Kaddish is for trout-fishing and in particular soft-hackle wet-fly flyfishing eminence Syl Nemes, and it’s a partial response to @Kaia Fahrenholz’s question about not feeling sad about death. Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony, podcasts
Tagged afterlife, Christian, death, dogs, dying, fly-fishing, heaven, hell, Jewish, mourning, purgatory, sadness, soft-hackle, Syl Nemes, trout, worldview
2 Comments
yahrtzeit for galina
your quizzical smile eyes cocked, waiting you say nothing, save ‘why?‘ and they pour out their secrets and you — you collect them and you do them justice but that’s just our business— that’s just our business your fingertips arranging … Continue reading
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
3 Comments
playing dead — a kaddish for George Leonard
The first time I played the Samurai Game, I died before the War even began. What happened was that our Daimyo had chosen me Second in Command. I was very honored and gave my allegiance willingly, eagerly, and with a … Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged death, game, George Leonard, samurai, Six Day War, warfare, warrior
2 Comments
daily kaddish: a kaddish for mr. one-paw
It’s a lesson I have to relearn each time: the hardest thing is the sudden deprivation of rituals. This is the last time Fuller will ever be on my lap. Friday was the last time Fuller played with his favorite catnip mouse. One minute he’s here, the next he’s gone. Continue reading
on playing kaddish
Mira Amiras’ blog “and this part is true” had a recent post entitled “war stories” about translating the Kaddish, the traditional Jewish mourner’s prayer. She asks, “What does this really mean?” It’s a good question, because the Aramaic text doesn’t … Continue reading