Coping With the Death of a Child
Comfort for grieving parents
The Meaning of a Year Gone By Without Jacob My son, Jacob, just had his first yahrzeit. This was the day I’d been dreading. Thankfully, it wasn’t the miserable crying fest I thought it would be. My husband and I were around other people during the morning, and in the afternoon, Jacob’s older brother Adam … Continue reading My Son’s First Yahrzeit
Many parents visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994) for advice and comfort after losing their child. The Rebbe would respond with patience and empathy, giving words of consolation and encouragement. Here are some of the Rebbe’s insights on the terrible tragedy of child loss. (What follows are not actual quotes, but merely … Continue reading The Rebbe Speaks to Grieving Parents About Child Loss
What Exactly is the Afterlife and What Happens There? One of the basic tenets of Judaism is belief in an afterlife. In brief, the journey goes like this: our soul first lives a life in the heavenly realms. It's then placed into a body in this world. After an allotted amount of time, the soul … Continue reading Life In the Afterlife
'Celebrating' My Son's Birthday Well, I'm not really celebrating. It's not like we're eating cake and giving presents. The adjectives 'observing' or 'acknowledging' would be more appropriate. For the past few weeks, I was unsure of how I wanted to observe Jacob’s birthday. In some ways, I was dreading the day which used to be … Continue reading Happy Birthday Jacob
I'm Supposed to be Happy, But I'm Crying ‘Blessed are you, L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion.’ This is one of the blessings my husband recited when he lit the first Chanukah light. When he got to the part ‘…and … Continue reading Chanukah’s Message For A Grieving Mother
