Shiva

I won’t be listening to music for the traditional 30-day mourning period (which actually ends up being many fewer than 30 days, as Rosh Hashana terminates the mourning), but I still wanted to post some songs for y’all.

The Antlers – Shiva

For those who don’t know, Shiva is a seven day period of mourning, where all the closest relatives to the deceased (siblings, parents, children) sit in their house, and are comforted by friends and family. The Schwartz family seems to have amazing friends and family, because our home was packed from 7AM until 11PM on a daily basis, as we all cried and laughed, recalling stories we remembered, reveling in the joy of hearing new ones, and celebrating and mourning Gilad’s life.

Shiva is both a trying period, and a cathartic one. We walk away from the cemetery, and instead of being thrust directly into the raw grief, and debilitating depression over the less, we’re surrounded by those who are remembering, mourning, and celebrating with us. A week later, when the house empties out and we’re faced with our thoughts and realities once more, everything is a bit more bearable. We’re not just walking into the house, wiping off cemetery dirt. We haven’t just laid down the shovels. The pain isn’t quite so raw, and thus we are able move forward.

We miss you, Gilad.