Avi's Bar Mitzvah Anniversary
Saturday, December 23, ten months after Avi's death, was the eighth day of Chanuka with exactly the same Torah readings as those at his bar mitzvah ceremony. I chanted them in their entirety.
When I came to the words found in the special Chanuka portion from the Book of Numbers that are inscribed on Avi's headstone, VaYishma et haQol middabber elav, "...and he heard the Voice speaking to him...", I slowed down and raised my voice as I pronounced each word.
Avi's bar mitzvah haftarah, I Kings 7:40-50, is not often read because it occurs only when the last day of Chanuka coincides with Shabbat. The last time was at Avi's bar mitzvah. He would have chanted it this year, just as he would have chanted the Torah portions.
I chanted the haftarah, but I did not end the reading with the customary flourish, and I chanted the concluding blessings without the customary, upbeat Shabbat melody. I was in no mood.
When I came to the words found in the special Chanuka portion from the Book of Numbers that are inscribed on Avi's headstone, VaYishma et haQol middabber elav, "...and he heard the Voice speaking to him...", I slowed down and raised my voice as I pronounced each word.
Avi's bar mitzvah haftarah, I Kings 7:40-50, is not often read because it occurs only when the last day of Chanuka coincides with Shabbat. The last time was at Avi's bar mitzvah. He would have chanted it this year, just as he would have chanted the Torah portions.
I chanted the haftarah, but I did not end the reading with the customary flourish, and I chanted the concluding blessings without the customary, upbeat Shabbat melody. I was in no mood.
posted by Jay Lapidus at 7:49 PM
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