On a cold February morning in 2016, the power had gone out at about 3AM, and the house was cold. Larry woke up for Morning Prayer, as he committed to saying the Kaddish* for Jackie during the first 11 months after her passing. At the synagogue, a dozen men had gathered with their coats on in the dim light of the chapels emergency spots.
While waiting to begin, one of Larry’s friends directed his attention to the back wall and asked with a strange smile: “Do you see this?”
Turning to look, Larry couldn’t believe his eyes! One single blue light was glowing on the entire nameplate wall. Jackie’s Light! More than six hours after the power failure Jackie’s nameplate was still shining in the dark.
The congregants were baffled. Even our cousin, an accomplished electrical engineer, could not explain it. The rabbi, however, was not surprised. Just the day before, special arrangements had been made for him to be interviewed in an adjacent room in the synagogue, for a special tribute video being prepared in honor of Jackie. In the interview, the rabbi talks about how bright Jackie was, how much light she brought into this world.
In ancient times this would be considered a miracle of epic proportions! Today we take a lot for granted without a second thought.
Is this proof that our light is eternal or a message from Jackie to say (hey guys), “I am still here!”?
* Kaddish is a deeply meaningful prayer that expresses and reflects the values of the Jewish people.