Recently I had a powerful experience which painfully reminded me of the tremendous loss and void that Amir’s death leaves in the life of his family and friends. A friend invited me to participate in his bikur cholim group that Shabbos afternoon. I knew that this mitzvah would be the perfect opportunity for me to heal and to honor Amir’s memory. And so I went with my friends to a hospital, and we comforted various Jewish patients and their neighbors. I plan to continue performing this mitzvah in Amir’s memory.
Along the way I had some incredible bonding experiences with Hasidic patients and their families. I met a young Viznitzer woman and offered to pray for her recovery and talked to her. I met a Hasidic mother who told me her seven-year-old son was going to be admitted to the hospital to treat an infection in his appendix after Shabbos. His father was davening fervently for his son. But thank G-d the child’s infection was not life-threatening. As a result, I felt profoundly at peace while davening mincha in the chapel where the service was led by Hasidic men.
I was deeply moved by Jonathan Wolfson’s latest posting in which he described Amir’s final moments of life. I am totally amazed that as he was dying, Amir was thinking of how to save the lives of other people. His final wishes were to donate his organs and ensure that his best friend Jonathan was being taken care of. Amir demonstrated the highest level of selflessness, righteousness, and kindness that a Jew can possibly show.