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Each week, a different passage of the Torah is chanted.  At age 14, when Maya became a Bat Mitzvah on November 10, 2014, her passage (parsha) was Toldot.  As part of the ceremony, one becoming a b’nai mitvah is to share their reflections.  It is called the “D’Var Torah”, or “Words from the Torah”.  This…

I remember the first week.  It was the end of Shiva.  Rabbi Aura expressed how “we did not imagine that we would make it another day, not to mention an entire week.”  This was so very true.  Yet there we were.  Today marks two years.  How can this be?  And here we are. For those…

I have not been to Cape Cod since my last trip there with Maya.  Why did we go, just the two of us then?  During our family trips each summer of her life, one of our favorite rituals has been to see the seals as they take their rest on a sandbar.  This activity is…

The last three weeks have been very, very dark for me.  Perhaps it was because of my recent transition.  I am aware of my vulnerability after landing and then integrating from our trip to Nepal.  It may have something to do with being cracked wide open by my experience there.  It could be that more…

I’m sitting on a rooftop in Boudhanath, Kathmandu.  Tibetan prayer flags blow in every direction.  Though the sounds of motorcycles, the hum of electric tuk tuks, barking of dogs, honking of every kind of vehicle, children playing are amidst, it is the deep echoes of Buddhist chants on speakers from a nearby monastery that resound…

One of the most challenging parts of life now is to be in social situations. Ironically, being in community is also incredibly fulfilling. How can this be? Even the idea of going to a gathering, a party, an event can trigger me. What will be stirred when I am around others? Which memories will bubble…

“It’s amazing how you and Mathew are getting through the tragedy of losing Maya,” a dear friend warmly told me after she recently read an article about the Foundation’s work. As I lovingly took that in, she noticed a glazed look that I had.  It was the word, “through” that took me somewhere.  “Through” means…

Growing up, my mom had a line that she would say to each of her three daughters, in a somewhat exasperated tone.  I could hear her now, “I love you so much that it hurts!”  Sometimes, she would cradle our face while chanting these words. When Adin and Maya would have their sibling squabbles, disagreements,…

At dance class as I listened to the drums, aside from the rhythms, I actually heard music.  There was a melody coming through that the drums alone could not be sounding.  It was magical.  We danced, “Kassa,” one of my favorite dances from the Malinke people of Guinea.  It is not surprising that the word…

“Maya would be so proud of you.”  These are the words that two teens, who I had never met before shared with me during a brief interaction.  These are the words that brought a lump to my throat and then the tears.  Were the sentiments behind these words, “thank you.  Your work is helping us. …