In Halakha-difference between אנינות ואבילות-disbelief/onset of pain... A this very hour/Jerus/being led to קבורה; & we-still in state of shock, & just beginning to feel full impact of grief. So – is too early to take full measure of man, just enough for expression of initial grief and the bare beginnings of assessment of R. for us/historyBegin with an interpretation of this past Shabbat's Sidra: לך לך מארצךוממולדתך ומבית אביך...אבות פ״ה-עשרה נסיונות...ורמב״ם-א׳ מהן "לך לך". אבל קשה-רש"׳ --"לטובתך ולהנאתך"...אלא שהנסיון היה שאברהם הבחין בצער הנשארים....So: his passing-no matter which side of the political divide we stand on-leaves us bewilderd, grief-stricken, deeply vexed.אבלות contains within it an element of תשובה...It is therefore appropriate for us to examine ourselves & learn if we in any way can improve what we are doing/how acting so as to avoid such catastrophes in futureLet me begin these few ruminations by saying that in addition to shock and grief, I for one experienced a vital element of תשובה, and that is: בושה...It was one of us-a religious student, who did it-even if he is a mad man...We have been civilized-by Torah, by social sanctions, by parental training, by moral conscience. That constraining inhibition is powerful in most people. I But in some it is exceedingly weak. A person so poorly endowed can lead an otherwise normal life for a long time, but place him in an environment which is permissive of violence, which exposes him to harsh talk, to hype, to unrestrained overstatement, to irrational and undisciplined expression-and anti-social urges buried deep within his sick psyche will explode in an unspeakably ugly display of hostility that turns men into monsters, society into a jungle, and civilization into chaos.Our responsibility is to avoid such an environment, never to be guilty of having, knowingly or unknowingly, encouraged such bestiality.Our responsibility is to be responsible, to recognize that violent rhetoric invariably l…

When I last saw Muni some 48 hours ago – and I may have been the last of his family and friends to see him alive – I expressed my regret at having failed to get to know him during all these intervening years between his youth and his recent fatal illness. I acknowledge that regret now, publicly. Perhaps more of us should have paid more attention to him. For there was more to him than I imagined, and some incremental uncritical love might have salvaged more of his neshamah and given him a greater sense of fulfillment.Like every other human being, Muni was possessed by both demons and angels. His demons were ordinary, unexceptional. His angels, however, were special.The Israeli poet Natan Alterman, writing of Azriel Carlebach, said: יוזכר נא ויוגד, כיLet it be remembered" .חולשותיו היו נחלת רבים בינינו, אבל מעלותיו היו שלו בלבדand told that his faults were the common lot of many of us, whereas his virtues were his alone." In his weaknesses, Muni was a child of his times. But his qualities were indeed superb: a straight and undeviating decency, a ישרות; good natured; giving; forgiving to those who injured him; a loyal friend, almost to a fault; and a great lover of life—witness his heroic struggle for twelve years against the foul illness which ultimately triumphed over him.Muni was so very grateful, even for the least difficult of favors performed for him. He was appreciative of any kindness extended to him. He was a sweet person, sometimes almost child-like in his devotion and הכרת הטוב. He gave himself a nick-name: Drimmeleh, Yiddish for a short nap. Perhaps he thought that that summarized his life: a short drimmel, and all is over...Muni refused to burden anyone. He hated to impose on people. When I saw him this past Sunday evening, I recited וידוי with him and spent some time with him. I hated to leave, because I knew he was dying, but was unable to stay since I did not know when the hour of יציאת נשמה would take place. He recognized my dilemma and whispered to m…