Seven years ago today, I left my parents’ house at around 3PM. I’d spent the day helping Mom take Dad to a urologist. Dad had congestive heart failure and high blood pressure, and on top of that had been sick for about three months with a constant headache and upset stomach, and now he had some kind of urinary blockage that the doctors were frankly scratching their heads over. When I left, Dad was looking up the new meds the urologist had given him in his PDR. (He was a pharmaceutical chemist by training, although he’d been a chemical and mechanical engineer most of his life.)
By 5PM he’d keeled over next to the bed and died almost instantly.
I still go through life thinking “what would Dad do?” or “how would Dad handle this?”
I can’t believe it’s been seven years and I haven’t managed to kill or maim myself yet. 🙂
בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ
וְיַמְלִיךְ מַלְכוּתֵהּ
בְּחַיֵּיכוֹן וּבְיוֹמֵיכוֹן
וּבְחַיֵּי דְכָל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל
בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב. וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן
יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ
לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא
יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְפָּאַר וְיִתְרוֹמַם
וְיִתְנַשֵּׂא וְיִתְהַדָּר וְיִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְהַלָּל
שְׁמֵהּ דְקֻדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא
לְעֵלָּא מִן כָּל בִּרְכָתָא
וְשִׁירָתָא תֻּשְׁבְּחָתָא וְנֶחֱמָתָא
דַּאֲמִירָן בְּעָלְמָא. וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן
יְהֵא שְׁלָמָה רבָּא מִן שְׁמַיָּא
וְחַיִּים עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְֹרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן
עוֹשֶֹה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו
הוּא יַעֲשֶֹה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ
וְעַל כָּל יִשְֹרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן
May His great Name grow exalted and sanctified
in the world that He created as He willed.
May He give reign to His kingship in your lifetimes and in your days,
and in the lifetimes of the entire House of Israel,
swiftly and soon. And let us say: Amen.
May His great Name be blessed forever and ever.
Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled,
mighty, upraised, and lauded be the Name of the Holy One,
blessed be He, beyond any blessing and song,
praise and consolation that are uttered in the world.
And let us say, Amen.
May there be abundant peace from Heaven
and life upon us and upon all Israel. And let us
say, Amen.
He Who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace,
upon us and upon all Israel. And let us say, Amen.