The kaddish experience has afforded me the opportunity, again and again, to see the good in people. In a world with so much that is negative it is refreshing to be reminded that there are many people for whom kindness and generosity are an integral part of their lives.

In this regard, this week, a friend from New York, who has been following this blog and read of my concern with finding a Shachris minyan next Wednesday at JFK airport, emailed me and offered to pick me up at 7:30 am at JFK airport next Wednesday, take me to minyan, and return me to the airport to catch my flight to Israel. (Yes, we are going, PG, with our two oldest grandchildren). How generous! What a chesed for me and for my mother a”h!

Also this week I was again reminded how all-encompassing saying kaddish really is. Our law firm’s Director of Admin inquired whether I would be able to attend our firm’s summer outing. I told her that I would have to ask and would get back to her. I, of course, was focused on the propriety of my attending such an event. It was not until a day later that I realized that there is no way that I could attend the outing because there are no minyanim in the vicinity of the outing. While it made the decision is easy it was another reminder of how central saying kaddish is to my life this year.