About Kaddish Journal in memory of Sally Jean Yaffe Lieberman z”l
Kaddish Journal is dedicated to the memory of my mother. It began as my personal journal of loss and mourning. At the end of the first year of mourning, I was writing about the first yartzeit when I realized that KaddishJournal need not end, but could grow to become a community resource. With everyone sharing their experiences, it would come to reflect the diversity of our community and show how in mourning certainly, we have more in common than separates us. If it grows as I envision it will, I can think of no greater memorial to my mother, who was a strong woman, a true pillar. May this log and this memorial to her stand as a source of strength to others.
The Origins:
To see the origins, you can just read the blog. If you read from the beginning, you will read about my Mom who inspired me to keep this journal. I was the third of three kids. As I told in my eulogy, Mom used to put two pictures of my brother on the mantle. We looked enough alike and who could be bothered to take pictures by number three. She told me the story of being in the supermarket with three kids under the age of four. A woman stopped her, smiled and said she remembered when her children were that young too. My mother grabbed her arm, and said with great hope, “you survived.”
I know the story but it was not my experience. This blog started as my experience. My experiencing the death of my mother, the grief, the memories, the Jewish rituals, and the lessons of this time. I hope it helps comfort others or helps teach them something of value. If so, it is the ultimate memorial.
