Many bereaved parents note that, in retrospect, their child let them know in advance that they were leaving this plane of existence. My good friend, Tuvia, who lost a child in the late 80s, told me that his son asked questions about the “World to Come” in the week before being fatally hit by a car. The questions were uncharacteristic.
At the last holiday meal before his death, Sholom delivered a Torah thought at the table about “zayis ra’anan,” based on Talmud Menachos 53b. Essentially, Rabbi Yitzchak comments on a set of passages from the book of Jeremiah and interprets them as a conversation between G-d and Avraham Avinu regarding the destruction of the Temple and sad state of the Jewish People. G-d reassures Avraham Avinu that the true fruition of the Jewish People resembles “zayis ra’anan – the fruitful olive,” that only produces a beautiful crop after years of torturous growth. The ultimate fruition of the Jewish People will come at the end of millenia of suffering.
At the time, I was amazed that Sholom actually delivered a d’var Torah (Torah thought) at the table, let alone deliver it as enthusiastically as he did. My reaction was to comment that sometimes people are like that – going through years of struggle before realizing their potential. Our son had had a tortured adolescence, but in the past year had become such a fine person, revealing excellent traits that had grown over the years, unseen. He was telling us that he had reached the stage of “zayis ra’anan” and that it was time for him to go.
If only we had known…..
