The High Holidays were painful for me because they reminded me of Amir’s death and brought a powerful wave of grief over this terrible tragedy. But one of the things that has given me strength in this difficult time has been the opportunity to perform mitzvot in Amir’s memory. So through a happy accident I ended up helping some young families to build a sukkah for elderly Jews and had the chance to celebrate the life of all the Jewish generations together. And also I took on the obligation to learn a book of the Tanakh for an upcoming siyyum that I have not previously tackled in detail.
Unfortunately, we can’t bring Amir back to life. But we can honor his wonderful legacy by performing as many mitzvot as possible and seeking to emulate his good and kind qualities and especially his compassion for poor black children.