darkly amusing

[theyellowhobbit]

There is currently a Torah in my Grandma's apartment. It's staying there for the week of the shiva. They've had around 25 people for the minyanim. A bunch of my friends from the Orthodox communities, some of who never even knew my grandfather, have stopped by over the past few days.

My dad said that this is giving him a newfound respect for the traditions.
Maybe this is the start of something bigger. After all, my parents do want to sell the house and move out of Barrington eventually. If it weren't for the fact that I'm making aliyah, my Mom said they'd move to the East Side of Providence [Jew-land] now, so I could be at home for Shabbat. [If that were the case, I'd still eat with frum families...] Maybe they will move there. They'd be closer to Grandma, and then she wouldn't be so alone now.

Dad said: "[Grandpa] was just a regular guy who did regular stuff, but it seems like he touched a lot of people. He always did the right thing..." There were almost 300 people at the funeral, and they ran out of room.

My parents have been vacuuming and dusting every day to make Grandma happy. She doesn't like having the apartment in shambles.

I wish that I could be there for the shiva. This is all really moving and amazing.

Though the community here has given me a similar response, albeit on a smaller scale. It's not like I'm sitting shiva. But upon my return to campus, a bunch of people have called me. Even now Rabbi Mike came up to me today. The funny thing is, I don't really need all this support. But it gives me a good feeling to know that this many people care.

Comments

[kressel.livejournal.com]

It sounds like your frum friends in Providence are making a real kiddush Hashem!

[sen-ichi-rei.livejournal.com]

Indeed. They're the coolest people ever. Even though Im not Yeshivish by any standard, I would seriously consider living in that community [if they relocated to Israel] because they are just so wonderful and open and welcoming.

I guess it's harder for people that are older and set in their ways to completely change their lifestyle. But maybe the community can make an impact on my family. It's not my place to try and change them, but if they see how wonderful frum life is, and how it's possible to be frum and still lead a "normal" life, maybe they'll change their minds a bit.

My mom never covers her hair, but she wore one of those black lacy things at the funeral. That caught my attention. Maybe if I made her a pretty enough hat, she would wear it when at Friday night dinners in Providence. [Though no one has ever said anything to her about not covering her hair.]

[kressel.livejournal.com]

Rabbi Paysach Krohn tells a story about a frum man who found someone's date book in NYC. The number of the owner wasn't written in it, but there was a number marked "Mom" with a 305 area code.

"A Jewish bubby in Miami," thought the frum man. He called the number.

It was indeed, an older Jewish woman. The man explained about the mitzvah of hashovas aveidah and told her about the diary. She siad that she did indeed have a daughter in NY who might be the owner. She put the man in touch with her, and she was the rightful owner, so he returned the diary.

That erev Shabbos, a large bouquet of flowers was delivered to the man's house. It was from the woman whose diary had been found. And then she called him on the phone and explained that she was a baalas teshuva, and her mother wasn't happy about it. But when she encountered first hand a man so genuine in his observance of mitzvos, and particularly an interpersonal mitzvah, her attitude was completely changed.

Hashem alone knows the impression these people are making on your family or what will come out of it. But it just might be something very, very big.