Rabbi Mychal Copeland, the Rabbi at Stanford Hillel, participated in Chabad at Stanford’s memorial for Amir, held on March 29, 2004.
Rabbi Copeland lit a yartzeit candle and said:
“The soul is akin to a flame…it has not gone out – as Lizzie so beautifully said, his soul has returned to its source…”
Rabbi Copeland then read psalm 23…
“The lord is my shepherd”
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures:
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul:
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
For you are with me;
Your rod and your staff they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies:
You anoint my head with oil; My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of God for ever.
Then she read words of Rabbi Kushner:
“‘…I walk thru the valley of the shadow death’… – the miracle is that we find our way out…The advice of the psalmist is – Don’t be afraid to love people; don’t be afraid of losing. Trust God to enter into your pain and make it less dark; less frightening…”