13.12.2009 – Shiva
It’s been a bad week.
we lost our friend in a car accident. He slipped with his car on the wet road. He was on his way to pick up his wedding ring, so he can propose to his girlfriend to get married. He planned to take her to a zimmer in the north and surprise her.
It happened in the morning of Monday. We have a religious tradition in Jerusalem – Dead are not allowed to sleep in the city. That means that they are buried in the same day, even if it is in 23:00 there us still a funeral. I did not manage to get to the funeral.
At first we wanted to go the day after the day of the car accident. But when my friends didn’t manage to do it in the evening (They work, live and study in Jerusalem, where we were born and raised). I started to think that I won’t go to see the mourning family in her Shiva. In the Jewish religion we sit for seven days doing nothing but mourning on the dead – this time is called Shiva (seven in Hebrew). After those seven days you are ordered to get up and go back to life (of course with some restrictions). Lucky me I don’t really know who it is, but looking on others it looks like that is the best way to get over it – dive in for seven days of Shiva and then get up. We thought about going to a show in Thursday night – cover of the Beatles. I said to myself that I won’t go, and that’s OK. Because I didn’t really knew him. It finally occurred to me that I lie – I just afraid to go there.
I convince a friend to come with me (that was easy – he really wanted) and we went there Friday morning. It was OK – I didn’t collapse like I afraid I would. First of all it’s Friday and many people don’t work and can allow themselves to visit a mourning family in the Shiva. So, There were a lot of people there. Second, it’s the time of the mourning that people starts to talk, to rise up memories and laugh. Yes a lot of times the laugh turn suddenly into a cry. But it’s better then the start – when all you do is cry. I know from high school – sad as it sound it was like a reunion…
We finished school 7 years ago (so fast the time pass…:-). They all remember me as the boy with the dreadlocks… We went to his house just after we had our last test – to see the final of 2002 world cup: Brazil against Germany (2-0). And we lost the first 20 minutes because of the test….
I’ll miss him… 🙁
Take Care
Gad