Shiva call

So my friend S lost his 93-year-old mother last week.

I have reached that age where most of my friends are orphans, having lost one or both of their parents.  By now we all know the drill.  If you can’t make it to the funeral…if it’s a Catholic friend, you go to the wake and buy a Mass card.  If it’s a Jewish friend, you pay a shiva call.

Traditionally Jews sit shiva for 7 days after the funeral.  S and his brother aren’t very religious, so they decided to shorten the period of mourning; the funeral was Thursday, and the brothers sat shiva Friday and Sunday — mourners do not sit shiva on Saturday, as that is the Sabbath.

I’ve known S for over 30 years, he was a groomsman at our wedding,  so of course Drew and I and a few other friends drove out to S’s brother’s house Sunday afternoon. And of course we brought cake.  

You can’t go empty-handed to a shiva house.

When Jews are happy, we eat.  When Jews are in mourning, we eat.  I guess you can say food is love.