"and who is like Your Nation Israel" umee ki-amcha Yisrael
Friends, last night I faced the very real possibility of performing a funeral for a sweet Hero of the Holocaust all alone. It would be just Eddie Ford (Efraim ben Dov, the deceased man), me and our Father Above.
I sent out a late night FB post and two emails to groups neither of whom replied. 3 people responded that they would join me. I was hoping for at least ten in total.
When I arrived at the cemetery in a wind chill of -27, far to the north of Toronto, I couldn't get in because of the line of cars. I assumed there was another funeral taking place at the same time and I wondered how we would find Eddie's resting place.
I stopped people who were walking and they all said they were going to the funeral of Mr Ford. I had to park far away and walk in the freezing wind to join an estimated 150 people in a huge, warm circle of love, as we gave Eddie a sweet, proper, fitting, loving send off to the Next World.
I am in tears just thinking about how humbling and awesome it is to be part of the Jewish People who on very short notice; would drop everything, leave whatever they were planning on doing, drive fa long distance, to stand outside in a open field, on a super freezing, blowing, windy day to escort a sweet, little Jew from Budapest, who was unknown to almost all them, on his final journey. And so tell me, WHO is like you, dear Nation of Israel?? G-d clearly chose wisely.....
