226 - The True Judge: Dayan ha-Emet

Our tradition has a blessing for everything. So too when one hears of a death. We say: Blessed is the Eternal our God, Ruler of the Universe, the true Judge. Uncle Irv died this morning; perhaps he and God together picked the moment. How did he last this long, so fragile, yet still with mental vitality? I think it was a quiet death, surrounded by family, a final stillness.

Two Hundred Twenty-Six

The True Judge: Dayan ha-Emet

Slowly the days have counted down.
You, my Blessed One, eased my pain;
The reality, the finality absorbed my being,
Gently, slowly, I closed my eyes.

You, my Blessed One, surrounded me,
Made manifest in the arms of my beloveds;
They were my comfort and my future,
Guiding me to Your presence.

Now there is no struggle, no pain.
Here the light of eternity is my lamp;
You make me a completed whole,
You cover me with shalom.