When I was a child, I found it strange that in a rabbi's home, my parents referred to someone who had died as having "passed away".  Even in a home where dealing with death was part of my father's occupation, it was still difficult to mention it by name.  That is human instinct, the longing to live, especially when the pain is not overwhelming.

 In my mind, any thought of Eternity, of being part of life ongoing, banishing death, begins and possibly ends with “Now”; Being here/hear now is all there is: now and always.  And the mandate is: Make this moment, this “now”, Kadosh, memorable, treasurable and holy.

 Ironically, much of the time “now” slips away to the past or the future, with so much energy spent looking back and looking forward.  Or, it is an overworked engine generated by ongoing frenzy to meet some deadline (how ironic that we are “comfortable” with that mention of “death”).

 The power of stopping, i.e. Shabbat, is in accessing “now”, experiencing total involvement in “now”, and carrying the memory of that feeling into the coming days of the week.  The power of Shabbat is in the stopping to assure that any “nows” that were in the week past, especially intense periods of undivided attention to projects facing deadlines, are properly acknowledged for all that they were and that you were and did.  Perpetual now, non-stop effort, loses meaning and significance when you have no time to pause and savor what transpired.

 I try to keep in mind that the quest for eternity begins with “now”.  Each of us, for better or not, is in the eternal moment, right now.  It just happens to be your turn and mine on the stage of physical life, the realm of the senses.

 In Judaism, when the time comes to move on, pass away, transition, pass on, graduate, transcend, pass, recycle, kick “the” bucket (contrast that message with “break a leg!”) and, yes, die, however incomprehensible and impossible to accept that may be, dying is part of living, and we know that since it has always been the way of this physical world. 

 One thing the rabbinate has taught me is to have some comfort level around death, in cemeteries and amidst great sadness.  It helps me, knowing how human we all are, and the pain we go through when we do, that we have each other and one another’s understanding and nurturing for what we each must go through. 

 Many years ago, at the bedside of a Jungian teacher in his last days, I asked him how he felt about dying.  His response: “I am not afraid of death, but I do not welcome it”. 

 Fair enough. Judaism teaches us to treat life in this realm as all that is most important.  We are mandated to stay alive as long as we can, that each day, even among our last, offers opportunities for special instances and moments that are as precious as all Eternity.  A single hour of Shabbat may have an impact lasting forever.

 Nevertheless, transitioning and honoring life eternal begins with how we bury our dead and begin the process of honoring their memory (assuming good parents worthy of honoring, that they raised their children in the spirit of Torah and Mitzvah, i.e. living responsibly and caringly) for the rest of our lives.

 Mortuaries in our area have been nurturing and wonderful in assisting us with burying our loved ones.  Joining them now with specific attention to the Jewish Community, and based in Vallejo, is Dan Mandel who is not only opening a Jewish mortuary, he is in the process of arranging new Jewish burial ground along the Napa Vallejo corridor.  By the time you read this, you may already know of a date scheduled for Dan to visit us and tell us of all his plans for helping us integrate death with all of life we hold so dear. 

 This new energy in addressing needs we have in time of death is a wonderful opportunity to come to grips with mortality and address these issues while things are otherwise fine.  All too often, it is left to the time of death, when everyone is in shock, disbelief, and or overwhelm. 

So much to ponder when we confront the continuation of life into life eternal.  As long as we make time to be here/hear now, now and again, and as long as we find time to stop, to absorb all that is happening, we are assured a good portion in the world to come.  Why not? In some ways, right now, we are already there!