The funeral was so fast! Her brother was leading people off to head for a gathering at the house, one last time. One of the chapel people, said “Stop — we haven’t said a kaddish!” Some of us had been waiting for a kaddish. But he was adamant — she wouldn’t want a kaddish. Just…
daily kaddish: for really bad books
It seems appropriate to me that an audio response to Mira’s kaddish for really bad books ended up displaying really bad reading from me.
a kaddish for the happiest couple in america and really bad books
That’s what he called them. “The happiest couple in America.” And as soon as the words were out of his mouth, the spell was broken and she was gone. I mean, where do you go from there? Repeat cycle? Which would mean more of the same. And if there was more of the same, would…
daily kaddish: for the biofather
A real kaddish in two-part harmony, at last. With Kjersti scratching the Afghani kelim underfoot. A kaddish for Milton G. Nobler—painter, chemist, Renaissance man, and very flawed human being — just like the rest of us.
daily kaddish: from the parking lot
If this Kaddish seems a little distracted, hurried perhaps, not fully focused on grief or lost loves, it’s because I was playing it in a parking lot outside a concert hall with actors warming up just inside, musicians strolling past, passersby smoking, and car doors slamming.
the tzaddik and the negotiator — a mother’s day meditation
Malkah was in such awe of the tzaddik that she spent most of her time with him asking questions, and nodding at the wisdom of his responses. Of course, his responses generally started with the need to do more research. Look things up. Even go to the library, when he was stumped. But most of…
daily kaddish: for Ruth Leavitt Kadish
Today’s Kaddish is in honor of Mira’s longtime friend Lori Goldwyn’s mother, Ruth Leavitt Kadish. Lori wrote a yizkor for her mom a few weeks ago, and it was my honor to record today’s kaddish for both of them.
closure, or something like it — a kaddish for milton g. nobler
People say you need closure. But does that mean that there are no more stories to be told? I woke up this morning with two imperatives: 1) a sense of real or imminent closure, and 2) the need to tell this tale. It’s a tale biofather told me, and I’m pretty sure he never told…
daily kaddish: cinco de mayo
a “blender drinks” kind of kaddish for cinco de mayo
on the transmigration of souls (jewish deli style)
You wouldn’t think that the Jewish tradition was big on transmigration of souls — but it is. I’m not even sure this concept is taught much anymore in more mainstream non-Orthodox and Hassidic circles. But what do I know? I’ve not set foot in a shul for a very long time. And even then,…