Yiskor

At our YISKOR service this week, we did two things: we remembered our loved ones who no longer walk this earth and the members of our larger communities who have been struck down and are no longer here. It is a combination of personal and communal mourning.

The Hartman Institute in Israel has developed a practice that is known by the word Hitkansut. It is a reflexive verb and not easily translatable into English. Some have translated it as convergence. “A verb in the reflexive form, Hitkansut beckons us to gather not only with one another but also into ourselves, our memories, family histories, and epigenetic inheritances.”

And so this week, as we observe Yom Hashoah, I invite you to share your memories and thoughts of this day with others and to also to take the time to respond to the stories and memories that you hold, allowing both the tears and the unexpected laughter to take hold.