Life Goes On

We went to a funeral today. Itzik's dad passed on. I never met him, but in Israel, you go to funerals to support the living family. We go to more funerals each year as we get older. There are some strange things about being buried here in the Holy Land. They don't use coffins and you are buried in a Tallit, a prayer shawl. You can see the outline of the body, and its a bit too personal for me. A stark reminder that this once was a living, breathing human. The body is carried on a stretcher and sort of dumped into the ground. We noticed that the grave seemed very deep. The digger dude climbed way down into the hole (with a ladder) to straighten things out, I think, it was all rather weird. Then I noticed that some of the graves had dual stones, many with one side blank. I realized that the deep hole was probably for two. The later burial being placed on top of the resident occupant. Makes sense in a country with little land.

Each time I go to a cemetery, I remember just how inevitable death is. It's a good reminder for me - I should enjoy what I have here and now to its fullest. This graveyard, called "Orchard of Life" (what a name) is on the edge of Kfar Sava, in the shadow of the Arab town of Kalkilia. There is a nice view of the fields and hills of the Sharon. In the distance we could faintly hear the sound of the muezzin calling his flock to prayers, a strangely comforting reminder that life goes on.