David Moss’s Eulogy of Sharon Norry Seidman
December 13, 2002
I am deeply humbled by the task of attempting to translate into words the nobility of the life of Sharon Norry Seidman who now lies lifeless before us. But with the permission of this deeply bereaved family, And with the permission of all her heartbroken friends, I shall try.
I pray to the Holy One who sent this soul into the world, and into our lives—and so inexplicably took her from us—that I may be worthy today to eulogize the soul of a truly great woman.
In many communities, a culmination of our morning services on Shabbat and holidays is the magnificent hymn Anim Zemirot probably composed in the 12th century. In front of the open Holy Ark, before the Torah scrolls, with the entire congregation standing, the voice of an innocent child begins with these words of yearning:
Anim Zemirot v'Shirim Eerog, Ki Elechah nafshi taarog
“Because of the immense longing of my soul for You,
I shall compose melodies
And I shall weave sweet songs.â€
We are here today to honor and mourn a truly beautiful weaver of very sweet songs.
A weaver of fabrics.
A weaver of love.
Sharon was an extremely talented weaver and was gifted with the weaver's magical ability to intertwine insubstantial fragments of thread into holy garments.
But Sharon was a weaver of much more than garments.
She was a weaver of material and a weaver of the immaterial.
Sharon was a weaver of souls.
Virtually everyone who crossed her path she lovingly drew into the fabric of her life with a genuine interest in his or her well being, with a kind word, a special gift or a thoughtful note. There was no one neutral, no one peripheral, no one outside the vast tallit with which she enveloped her universe.
With delicate grace, with exquisite sensitively and with an unfathomable, quiet strength this radiant woman mysteriously wove tightly toward her everything and everybody that touched her too-short life. Those of us in this room, and so many hundreds outside this room who have had the privilege of knowing her are acutely aware of how she elevated each of us as she gently drew us in, beautifully and lovingly integrated us and firmly bound us into that sumptuous living cloak which she wove hourly, daily and as the years passed.
Though we came as quickly as we could from Israel, Rosalyn and I missed by 10 minutes the expiration of Sharon's final breath. But the inspiration of years of friendship with this magnificent, most human of human beings, shall always remain. Sharon inspired so many of us so very profoundly.
Hers was a deep and radiant warmth.
Hers was an openness and acceptance – so genuine that she was a magnet to people of every age.
Hers was beauty – both physical and spiritual that touched everything she touched.
Hers was honesty – she received the world on its own terms, but marvelously transformed it by responding to whatever came her way with dignity, love and affection.
Hers was humor – a refreshing lightness that gave a very human face to a life that in other places and in other times might have been called saintly.
Hers was wisdom – she seemed to always know just what was right.
Hers was strength – an awesome, imposing and mighty strength of character and personality that I have never witnessed elsewhere.
Sharon Norry-Seidman was a weaver, and has left us all a garment of light and love.
Every morning I wrap myself in this beautiful tallit that Sharon made for me. Every morning except one. On our national day of mourning, on Tisha B'Av, the joy of wrapping myself in all that love is symbolically postponed to the afternoon. This morning too, I prayed without this tallit which she wove and whose tzitzit we tied together in our living room in Jerusalem.
Join me now in enwrapping ourselves warmly in the precious life we knew. Join me now with all the comfort and consolation we can muster in embracing the dear family who mourns her. Join me now in weaving together the sacred individual memories of each one of us here.
As I now recite the blessing of enwrapping and embracing, join me with a final, heartfelt Amen to the true blessing our precious Sharon was to us all.
Baruch Atah HaShem Elokeinu Melech HaOlam Asher Kiddshanu Bemitzvotav vitzvanu l'hitatef batzitzit. |