A Forever Kind of Love

Newsletter July 31, 2023 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

They were just joking around. Sharing laughs and talking exchanging I love yous, which became I love you MOREs, and finally, he said, "I love you forever!" But he said it in this cartoonish voice. Which she insisted he say again, but this time she would record it.

And this voice would be played back again and replayed at various moments across their life together. At silly moments, at tense moments, and at moments of elation. A hallmark of their relationship.

And then one day, her life was cut short. She died at the age of 44 in a traffic accident. Just like that. Gone.

The funeral was filed with his coworkers and hers, family and friends made across time and space. I was there as her friend from Girl Scouts. And, as he related this story, all we could all do was cry and laugh and cry. At at voice he used, and at the response-- the deafening silence of her motionless coffin. At the tenderness of it all. At the incredible beauty of their relationship. At the fragility of life.

After we each tucked her in one last time by shoveling a scoop or two of earth over her lavender casket, I acknowledged how beautiful it was to know my friend was, and is, loved so much. Forever.

It is easy to take life for granted; to take love for granted. To trust that it will always be there. Wednesday, the Jewish community will observe the holiday of Tu b'Av-- the holiday of the 15th of the month of Av-- a holiday honoring love. The incredible human experience of feeling deeply connected to another. A pure feeling of the heart.

The Talmud reminds us that for at least 1600 years, the Jewish community has uplifted love. The all-consuming kind of love of partnership, and also the love of family, of community, of those you work with, and the love of connecting across the generations through traditions and recipes and customs and rituals. Love is connection. And as it was said at the funeral, this kind of true love is forever. And we should honor it and cherish it as long as we have it.

May we each find ways to celebrate love Tuesday. Rest in peace, Jennifer Landers. Your memory is a blessing.

Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

 Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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