Aging

When 91-year-old Deana came to visit me, she came to find comfort and solace a year and a half after her beloved husband Alvin died – but it turned out that she spent more time teaching me Torat Chayim (the Torah of Life). In the process, she lifted both of us a little higher on the ladder of holiness.

Most of us are probably all too well familiar with the old canard regarding Jewish holidays: “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!” Though the popularity of the formula may have sad implications regarding how people regard these sacred observances

While praying to God for help and solace, it struck me that there may be a different way to think about Alzheimer's. When Miriam's mind seems distant, the "person" I used to know is not really gone, but just gone from me, at those moments.

My grandfather was looking at me through empty eyes. His scruffy mustache was unmoving; he was just staring. My dad was making simple, small talk, but grandpa was just staring. I couldn’t recall then – and I can’t recall now, 20 years later – when was the last