Chana graduated HHNE last night.

Chana Esther, Avi's beloved sister, had this to say in her speech last night:

It says in Pirkei Avot 2:4, ..., Hillel said, "Don't separate yourself from the community." Rashi understands this statement as meaning that one should not separate from the community when it is experiencing difficulties so that one can be united with it when it experiences joy. Sharing in the experiences of a community is not something done on a whim; to really take part in a community, both in its joy and in its pain, is unavoidable because you are an integral part of the unit as a whole. To share in the joy means that you care about the people involved, and once you do start to care, you automatically feel their pain as well. Over the years, HHNE has experienced both joys and difficulties, but its devoted community has only grown stronger and more caring, and I am glad to say that I am a part of it.

Her friends and teachers at HHNE have been exemplifying Chana's message in their support of her since Avi's funeral through the shiva through last night.

If only Avi could have been there last night. At the reception, I watched Avi's classmates interacting with each other. I tried to imagine what Avi as a sixteen-year-old would have looked and acted like.