During the last days of my grandfather's life, he was treated in the Cleveland Clinic. The closest Zeidy got to “the time of death” the more he saw and conversed with people who passed away long before him. Once, when my mother was visiting, Zeidy was having one such conversation with his deceased Rabbi, Rav Shlomo Freifeld. My Mother asked: “Daddy, what is Rabbi Freifeld telling you?” My grandfather answered in a barely audible voice: “He’s saying: Tuviah, [his name lit. translation--goodness] you are good, goodness, you are a tov, a Tuviah!”
In a world filled with unpredictability, my Zeidy was a beacon of light, of order and reliability. I was in a difficult place in my relationship with my then fiancé before Zeidy died. One night he called me from the hospital. I picked up the phone wondering what my grandfather could possibly want to tell me at this hour of the night. His voice was weak and I could hear that he was struggling with every word. I pressed the phone as close to my ear as possible. Zeidy said: “If he is not with you one hundred per cent, do not marry him, one hundred per cent.” Then I heard sobs. I cried as well. It was then that I understood that my Zeidy was One Hudred per cent loyal with himself, with his wife, his family and his G-d. He was a loyal and reliable human being.
“Tzaddikim afilu bemitatam kruim chaim” Righteous people are considered alive even when they are physically deceased. That is because their actions live on forever. David proclaims in the Psalms: “Dor ledor yishabach ma’asecha” generation to generation praises Your [G-d’s] deeds. That is the reason for people to have children. Sitting in this room is the offspring that Zeidy built with Bubby. We will ensure that his legacy lives forever by incorporating his life values of honesty and loyalty in our lives.
Zeidy, I will love you forever.
