The Pebble That Says It All
When I was growing up, we had a funeral parlor on the corner of our street. It was a big white mansion sitting on a hill, surrounded by green lawns, with a driveway for the shiny black hearses to pull in. My brothers and I used to cut through this driveway on our way home from school. If there was a hearse parked there, we’d press our noses close to the dark glass to see if we could make out any dead bodies inside. When we found stalks of gladioli and other flowers strewn on the ground, we were delighted. What a nice present they made for Mom… At Jewish funerals, it is not customary to bring flowers or wreaths. Burials take place as soon as possible after death, and coffins are made of the plainest wood. In Israel, in fact, coffins are not used at all. The deceased is buried in a simple prayer shawl. It is considered wasteful to chop down trees and spend money on ostentatious flower...
