Yartzeit (Yiddish): the anniversary of a person’s passing

As many of you may know, today is my father’s, Mark Rosenthal, Yartzeit. He died four years ago from terminal thyroid cancer. Traditionally, you would go to temple and say the Mourner’s Kaddish. Most reform jews go on the nearest Friday. I’ve always felt that you should find a way to honor the person who died….like do something that they liked to do, eat something that they like, etc. Problem is, I’m just having a hard time finding something. People say that a person is never truly gone if you still think of them. Well, I feel like I’m reminded of him everytime I look in the mirror, say a bad joke, joke with a waiter, get grumpy, or even when I get disappointed with people because they didn’t do the best that they could do. So it’s hard to find one specific thing to do today to honor him. Ironically, it’s much easier to find something that he hated then something that he liked. I feel like I should go eat mustard, go to an italian restaurant that has paper table clothes, watch a sporting event with lots of commercials, etc. It’s also sometimes a hard day for me because we had our differences, but at the end of the day, I am my father’s son.

So one thing that Dad definitely loved to do is go traveling. So it seems appropriate that I just spend some time packing up my backpack and getting ready to meet my brother in Croatia. It’s very weird for me as I am just getting used to being in Israel, and now I’m leaving for 12 days. I’m definitely looking forward to spending some quality time with my old travel partner. I am a bit concerned to leave Jessica alone in Isarel, but am reassured that she is definitely not alone as many of her classmates have already said stuff about making plans and being around. Gotta love community.

Well that is all for now. Give someone you love a hug, cause life is frankly too short not too.