The Last Lecture

I was inspired by Randy Pausch. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Dr. Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who passed away last week from Pancreatic Cancer. Dr. Pausch's story became an international phenomenon after he gave his "Last Lecture" this past September, with the knowledge that he would be dead by now. The lecture has been seen by millions online, translated into different languages, and inspired a best-selling book.

What makes Dr. Pausch's story amazing is that even when he was staring death in the face, he lived his life to the fullest. He loved his life and loved living it. He loved his wife, his kids, his students, his profession. He loved the gifts that were given to him.

He was lucky. Many are not.

He was given the opportunity to package a legacy to leave for his children. Through his lecture and book, he has left a personal manifesto for them. He had the time to prepare personal letters and videos for each of them. To take them on vacations and to leave them with memories. He had the time, and the knowledge that it was being taken away from him.

We all know that life is a gift. When we wake up in the morning, the first words out of our mouth's are Modeh Ani, thanking Hashem for returning our souls to our bodies for another day on His great earth. However, we don't always live with the constant realization that our time is precious. We go about our day-to-day lives. We make life routine.

The message from Randy Pausch is to live life to its fullest. Take advantage of every day. We should take the time to commit our thoughts about life to writing or video for future generations. We should build a legacy of words that are a reflection of our actions.

When Dr. Paucsh gave his lecture, it was in front of 400 people. His real target audience was a group of 3, his children. His reach has extended to millions around the world, regardless of faith, age, race, or sex. That is a true legacy for his children. We should learn from him, and be inspired to improve our own lives.

The Last Lecture
The Last Lecture (Amazon.com)

Reinterment

Hirhurim Musings recently posted a write up of the laws of disinterring a body. On occasion, HFBA has dealt with disinterment requests, and while each case is addressed on its own merits, the Hirhurim article is a solid overview of the topic. Click here to view it.

Standing By Myself With Thousands By My Side

On Sunday June 30, I officiated at a funeral. And like all of the other funerals where I've officiated, I was alone with the grave diggers. And once the grave was filled in, and the diggers left, it was just me. While this is tragic, I had a tremendous realization at that exact moment, that I wasn't alone at all.

G-d was standing with me, giving me the strength to assist Him in escorting the deceased to the Next World. This person's deceased relatives were with me, welcoming their loved one. All the deceased at Mount Richmond Cemetery were there as well, in a special section of the next world, for those who suffered in this world. All the recipients of Meis Mitzvah were there as well.

When we perform a mitzvah, we're partnering with G-d. Our doing G-d's will is a manifestation of G-d's greatness in this world. And when a mitzvah is performed, those connected with it show up for the occasion, physically or meta-physically. They want to partner in glorifying G-d's name.

It's been said before but it bears repeating. When a person is buried by the Hebrew Free Burial Association, that person had to have some special merits to ensure they were taken care of. When someone dies, it is only through the good fortune of having an experienced social work, a compassionate landlord, a perceptive public administrator, that people come to us. So when a person is lowered into the ground in this world, the next world pays attention. "Who is this special person?" "I want to escort them as well."

So while I was standing by myself, I was standing with thousands, and more importantly, with G-d, performing his work. To paraphrase Pirkei Avos, "if not HFBA, then who?"

It Would Be Even Sadder...

In 1996, the NY Times wrote a profile about Rabbi Shmuel Plafker, the Cemetery Chaplain of the Hebrew Free Burial Association.

As he shoveled dirt onto the coffin, the rabbi [Rabbi Plafker] philosophized about his job. "This might be sad," he said, "but it would be even sadder if she had been sent to the potter's field."

This one line sums up the mission of HFBA. Our cases are tragic. Yet, something is right. Somewhere, our clients had a merit that ensured that they received a proper Jewish burial.

(To read the complete NY Times article, please click here)

Once You Pop You Can't Stop

Growing up, there was a great commercial for Pringles with the catchphrase, "Once you pop, you can't stop." The expression referred to popping open a can of Pringles. Unlike traditional potato chips, which were bag packaged, Pringles were dispensed in a cool can. I never gave thought to the Pringles Can until earlier this month when I saw the headline, The Man Buried in a Pringles Can.

Fredric Baur, the creator of the Pringles Can, wished for his ashes to be placed in a Pringles Can upon his death. As written in the aforementioned article

...when Frederic Baur died after a battle with Alzheimer's, Larry [his son] and his siblings stopped at Walgreen's for a burial can of Pringles on their way to the funeral home. "My siblings and I briefly debated what flavor to use," Baur says, "but I said, 'Look, we need to use the original.

Ignoring the Jewish view of cremation for a moment (for the record; against), we've become a society that belittles death and deceased. Solemn funerals are old fashioned. The trend now is for a custom casket, preferably one emblazoned with the deceased's favorite team's logo. Or a casket that when opened plays music from the deceased's favorite band. Or a can of Pringles (preferably Original Flavor).

A discussion needs to start about proper burial rites. Last week, I attended a Volunteer Conference for Baby Boomers. An elderly non-Jewish person came up to me and said,

When I die, I want a Jewish funeral. There's so much extra today that's ridiculous, and expensive. I just want a plain box and a plain service.

I'm not advocating Jewish burials for everyone, but I think people need to stop and recognize the waste in today's funeral market, as well as recognizing that despite the deceased's request, a Pringles Can is not a proper final resting place.

Lost in the Morgue

TRENTON -- City police acknowledged ... that missteps in paperwork caused the body of a woman to remain unidentified at the Mercer County morgue since 1999, even though detectives believed they knew who she was seven years ago.
(Click here to continue reading the full story)

This gross neglect of a human being, destined to languish in a morgue for nine years, is tragic. And while there have been discussion regarding the neglect from the morgue supervisors, the police department, and the medical examiner, i don't understand how for nine years, day after day, the morgue would operate, and no one noticed that the same space never became vacant?

I'm all for investigations into the bureaucratic failures that took place. But the reality is controlled not by bureaucrats but by the rank and file employees. They need to examine their job performance. Are they so detached from what they do that they fail to notice someone for nine years?

Or maybe it isn't their fault. Is it common for neglect to occur? What's the average time a body takes residence in a morgue? If a person remains unclaimed, where are they moved to? Under whose auspices? What care is given for religion? Do morgues employ Chaplains? These questions need to be answered, and if unsatisfactory, they need to be addressed and solutions found. Until then, what protections exist for a person arriving at the morgue today to ensure that they won't be left to depart for another nine years?

"G-d has me around for a reason—to win a funeral."

Click here for a follow up to the free funeral promotion at a minor league baseball game.

The money quote belongs to the winner who said, "I almost croaked many times. G-d has me around for a reason—to win a funeral."

The emotion here is sadness over the trivialization of all things serious.