{"id":451,"date":"2016-02-16T14:48:46","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T19:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/?p=451"},"modified":"2016-02-16T14:46:53","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T19:46:53","slug":"an-unconventional-minyan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/?p=451","title":{"rendered":"An unconventional Minyan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Copy<\/a><\/p>\n

Support has come in so many ways.\u00a0 One way that I\u2019ve been uplifted has been by saying the mourner\u2019s kaddish each week.\u00a0 At times, I go to a congregation, but most often, my dear friend Linda, gathers a minyan (a group of at least ten people) to recite the mourner’s kaddish with me.\u00a0 It was only a few years ago, that I learned that the mourner\u2019s kaddish has no mention of death in it. \u00a0The intention behind the prayer is that it elevates the soul of the deceased.\u00a0 It is one in which hope and faith are kept alive and we offer gratitude.\u00a0 Ten people (friends and formerly strangers) show up to offer support.\u00a0 The group has varied from week to week.\u00a0 At times, we recite the kaddish, and then go on with our day.\u00a0 We\u2019re in and out in fifteen minutes.\u00a0 More often, we\u2019ve taken to talking a bit, singing a song, reflecting on how Maya\u2019s death has impacted me and others in the community.\u00a0 People have shared their own stories and poems have been read.\u00a0 This ritual has had a deep impact on me.\u00a0 I have felt profound comfort and a sense of peace.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been sick this past week.\u00a0 I did not know if I could gather with a minyan considering my health.\u00a0 I did not have my usual talk with Linda to prepare.\u00a0 It would be the first week since Maya\u2019s passing that I\u2019d miss saying the mourner\u2019s kaddish and though I was anticipating some emptiness here, I accepted this choice.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, we received a touching correspondence from a student at Marist College. She represented the \u201cMarist Singers.\u201d \u00a0Each year, the Marist Singers perform a concert during the Valentine\u2019s Day weekend called, \u201cLove in the Afternoon.\u201d \u00a0It\u2019s a benefit concert and the student body chooses to donate a significant part of their proceeds to a non profit organization. \u00a0The student crafted her email so beautifully, \u201cWhen the choir heard of the news we could not help but be moved to act in some way. Many members of our group have been affected by suicide and we feel that bringing awareness to the issue and to your wonderful foundation is a small, but significant help to many who need it.\u201d \u00a0Mathew and I were moved and of course agreed. \u00a0How could this be? \u00a0We have not yet actively asked for donations, but people are finding the Maya Gold Foundation and the mission touches them; it is one that they want to support.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mathew and I attended two performances on Saturday. \u00a0Each song was about love. \u00a0Aside from being incredibly talented, each of those 125 students sung with such passion. \u00a0We shared a few words during the performance about the foundation, its mission, vision and our deep gratitude for such generosity.\u00a0\u00a0During the break between shows, parents thanked us for our courage and for allowing them the opportunity to give. \u00a0Students told us that working on this concert was a life changing experience for them. \u00a0They related differently to one another and found the work to be meaningful as never before. They wanted to do more. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the second show, I found myself weeping heavily while listening to an a capella song sung by about 50 young men. \u00a0At times, I question what brings on the tears; this was one of those times. \u00a0My tears were a mirror reflecting their beautiful harmonies. \u00a0With each tear came the blending of a symphony of emotions. \u00a0Among others, I felt Maya\u2019s spirit. \u00a0Her soul indeed was being elevated by the joy and fullness of the\u00a0<\/span>voices. \u00a0I had a sense that the entire audience felt uplifted. Though attending “Love in the Afternoon” was not the typical place that I feel the unconditional support of our weekly minyan ritual, it was a very unconventional sort of minyan for me. We did not recite the mourner\u2019s kaddish but several hundred people did embrace Maya\u2019s spirit with generosity, love, gratitude and hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

photo February 2013 Peterskill Falls<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Support has come in so many ways.\u00a0 One way that I\u2019ve been uplifted has been by saying the mourner\u2019s kaddish each week.\u00a0 At times, I go to a congregation, but most often, my dear friend Linda, gathers a minyan (a group of at least ten people) to recite the mourner’s kaddish with me.\u00a0 It was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gifts-since"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p720L0-7h","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":465,"href":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions\/465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mayasgifts.elisegold.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}