Rabbi Galperin walked over to the wall, the south wall of the main sanctuary of our synagogue, and studied the memorial plaques. Like so many synagogues, we have an area dedicated to the memory of loved ones who are no longer with us. Each plaque has a little bulb that stays lit during the month commemorating the anniversary of the person’s death. Rabbi Galperin started at the top with the bulb next to the name Jerome Cunix, and gently unscrewed the bulb just enough to extinguish the light. And with that another year passed since the day my father died.
My father succumbed to cancer on August 2, 1994, a month before his 69th birthday. That day was the 25th of Av in the Jewish lunar calendar. This year, the 25th of Av was last Thursday. That was the official day to mourn his passing. But as anyone who has lost a parent can attest, mourning isn’t ruled by a calendar