REDEDICTION

On the holiday of Hanukkah the Maccabees rededicated the ancient Temple after it was desecrated by the Greek Seleucids and the madman Antiochus Epiphanes IV. 

The word ḥănukkāh means "dedicate."

The root of the Hebrew word Hanukkah is comprised of the letters chet, nun and kaf:

The letter "Chet"

Chet (ח‎) - 8 -- In Hebrew, the letter "Chet" (ח) is associated with the concept of a "wall" or "fence" or "separation," (See my blog on this letter.)

The letter "Nun"

Nun (נ) - 50 -- the Hebrew word for faith, אמונה Emunah, is represented by the letter nun.  In Aramaic, nun means "fish", which symbolizes fertility.  The Hebrew word for candle, ner, begins with the letter nun. (See my blog on this letter.)

Kaf (כ) - 20 -- Kaf is the eleventh letter in the Aleph-Bet, is shaped like hand with an open palm. 

Put the meaning of those three letters together and you get the holiday of Hanukkah. (See my blog on Hanukkah.)

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Maccabees in the second century BCE. The holiday is also known as the Feast of Dedication or the Festival of Lights. 

The holiday lasts 8 days. Eight is a number that represents a "new beginning." Rededication is a new beginning. God started the world over with 8 people. Jewish males enter the Abrahamic covenant on the 8th day. Christians rededicate their lives to Yeshua who rose from the tomb on the eigth day. 

What does it mean to rededicate our life? What does it mean to start a new beginning? 

Last month I turned 65. On one hand, "Retirement" is something to celebrate and a time we look back. On the otherhand, for life to be meaningful we need to have purpose.  

I believe retirement is a time for a new beginning.  It is a time to rededicate, or at a bare minimum to refocus our life. It is a time to start new things or to dedicate more time to things which give our life meaning and purpose. 

After a life of work, many retiring people chose to focus on their own personal pleasures. Some see retirement as a time to serve others, perhaps volunteering or helping family & friends. Of course, a balanced life is good and so there is no reason one can't do both -- have some fun & enjoyment while also serving others. 

I wonder if their is a clue hidden in the holiday of Hanukkah. There are nine candles on the ceremonial candelabrum, but the center candle isn't counted. There are 8 days of Hanukkah. On the Hanukkah menorah the candle that is higher than the other eight candles and is used to light all the others, and yet, is called the "Servant candle." 

Either way, my life is entering a new season.  I am rededicating my life. I am Hanukkahing my life. 

Nehemiah 12:27 (ESV) -- And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.

L'Chaim -- to Life! 

HANUKKAH ROLL-UP

With Hanukkah around the corner I figured, rather reinvent the wheel, which is to say repeat things I have written before about Hanukkah, I would do a post with links to my previous blog posts.  Here it goes:

Here's links to my blogs related to Hanukkah:

• It takes a hammer to drive a nail
• Hanukkah happened
• Remember the 13th of Adar
• Hanukkah trivia isn't trivial
• Did God plan Hanukkah?
• The Moriah Plant
• What comes after Hanukkah
• Mircle of Miracles - 8

For my Christian friends who are wondering if Hanukkah has anything to do with them, I wish to share a fabulous teaching by a Pastor who grew up as an Orthodox Jew and found Yeshua as a young man:

Pastor Nathan Robinson - Seeing Jesus in Hanukkah 

Last but not least, below is beautiful performance of a very traditional Hebrew Hanukkah song -- Ma'oz Tzur.

Ma'oz tsur yeshu'ati
Lecha na'eh leshabeakh
Tikon beit tefilati
Vesham todah nezaveakh

Le'et tachin matbeakh
Mitsar hamnabeakh
'Az 'egmor beshir mizmor
Khanukat hamizbeakh
'Az 'egmor beshir mizmor
Khanukat hamizbeakh

Rock of ages crown this praise
Light and songs to you we raise
Our will you strengthen
To fight for our redemption

Our will you strengthen
To fight for our redemption
We celebrate with hymn and praise
Festive candles to you we raise
We celebrate with hymn and praise
Festive candles we celebrate

RIDDLE ME THIS...

Riddle me this: What letter do you add to the name of God to get access into Heaven? 

Isaiah 12 (NIV) -- Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation". 

Isaiah 12 teaches about the joy of salvation, trusting in God's strength, and seeking His presence. The prophet Isaiah spoke these words to the people of Judah and Jerusalem over 2,700 years ago. 

Judaism is built on faith in the Rock of Salvation. King David said in Psalm 18:2 -- The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

The word "Jew" comes from the Hebrew name Yehuda יְהוּדָה pronounced Judah in English. Judah was one of the son's of the patriarch Jacob. Judah led one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. He is known as "the Lion."

The name "Yehuda" means "Praise God." One of the requirements for being a Jew, according to the great Jewish sage and author Maimonides, is to "Praise God." 

The personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible, is represented by the four Hebrew letters יהוה (YHWH -- Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey), otherwise known as the Tetragrammaton.

The name יהוה was considered so sacred that its pronunciation was avoided by substituting "Adonai" (Lord) or "Elohim" (God) in speech and writing.

The exact pronunciation of YHWH is uncertain. Scholars generally pronounce it as "Yah-weh" or something similar. The name is closely connected to the phrase "I am who I am" that God used when speaking to Moses at the burning bush.  

Exodus 3:14 -- God answered Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' Then He said, 'You are to say to Bnei-Yisrael, "I AM" has sent me to you.'

You'll notice that YHVH יהוה and Yehuda יְהוּדָה are spelled very similarly. In fact there is only one letter difference. There is the Hebrew letter 

(ד) "dalet" just after the letter "Vav." 

Dalet is the 4th letter of the Hebrew aleph-beyt.

The word Dalet דלת means "gate" or "door." Vav is the 6th letter and it looks like a nail. It means "and" or "continue."  So the "gate" is added after the "nail."

When we add a "Dalet" after the letter "Vav"¡ in the name of God, YHVH יהוה becomes the word Yehuda יְהוּדָה -- the word we get "Jew" from. 

The concept of a "Gate," in the context of this message, might remind you of the "Gate to Heaven" which the patriarch Jacob saw in his dream in Genesis 28:10-22. 

Jacob dreamed of a "gate to heaven." He dreamed of a ladder set up on the ground and its top reached to heaven. He saw angels ascending and descending upon it, and God standing over him. In that Place, Jacob set the stone, that he had placed at his head, as a monument. Jacob annointed the Rock and he renamed that Place to Bet -El (House of God) and the Rock marked the gate, a door, to heaven. 

So the answer to the riddle, "What letter do you add to the name of God to get access into Heaven?" Is a Dalet -- a Gate! 

In the New Testament, John 10:1-3 Yeshua (Jesus) says "Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." 

Yeshua repeats in John 10:7, Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. He says again in John 10:9, Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. They will come in and go out, and find pasture."

Six times Yeshua is quite clear that He is the Gate, the Dalet (דלת) to Heaven. 

Romans 1:16 -- For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

FAITH RESTS ON MONUMENTAL EVENTS

Genesis 28.16 -- And Jacob awakened from his sleep, and he said, "Indeed, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know [it]."

Jacob dreamed of a "gate to heaven." He dreamed of a ladder set up on the ground and its top reached to heaven. He saw angels ascending and descending upon it, and God standing over him. In that Place, Jacob set the stone, that he had placed at his head, as a monument. Jacob annointed the Rock and he renamed that Place to Bet -El (House of God) and the Rock marked the gate, a door, to heaven. 

We get the word "Jew" from the Hebrew word Yehudi, which means "descendant of Judah" The word Yehuda is spelled יהודה in Hebrew. The unspoken name of God is spelled יְהֹוָה‎. Notice how close the spellings are. The only difference is the letter "dalet." Dalet דלת is the word for a gate, a door. 

Judaism is built on faith in the Rock of Salvation. King David said in Psalm 18:2 -- The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 122:1-2 (ESV) -- I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!

The Christian faith is built on the same metaphorical Rock. Yeshua, Salvation, gave us something more solid, in terms of proof of the Christian scriptures, than a dream. He gave us undeniable and indisputable evidence of his resurrection. 

Yeshua left us his own burial Linen-cloth and hankerchief which TESTIFY FOR HIM of his crucifixion, time in the tomb and ressurection. The Shroud of Jesus is a miracle of a miracle, preserved for today so that all can see, understand and believe like the Apostle John exclaimed:

John 20:8-9 (ESV) -- Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55

If there was no ressurection, there is no Gospel, thus no "Good news." Without the ressurection, Jesus is another false prophet. The faith of billions of Christians over the last 2000 years rests on the validity of that monumental event. 

Furthermore, if Yeshua didn't rise from the dead, anyone testifying of Jesus speaks of a blasphemous man. 

1 Corinthians 15:15 (KJV) -- Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

By the same token, evidence of the ressurection is proof of the Truth. Proof of the ressurection is proof of the Christ. If the ressurection is true, hope in Salvation is built on a solid Rock. 

Matthew 7:24-25 (ESV) -- Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 

Epilogue:

I highly encourage anyone who found this post of any interest, that you listen to the following podcast on:  One For Israel

The Premonition of My Father's Death

We are all a bit nuts. I don't think I'm crazy but if someone else told me this, I might wonder if they were. Especially the part about being followed by a number. LOL.

Yesterday, 12.2.24 was my father’s funeral.  He passed away at 3:38 am on 11.24.24.  But I think his soul started to make a "getaway" on my birthday, November 2nd.  Please allow me to explain.  

For years I have had a premonition that my father was going leave us on my birthday, November 2nd.  My mother's death, last year, was an affirmation to me of the date.  The nurse pronounced my mother dead at 11:02 am.

This was the year. Dad was 93 and I had the strong sense he would not see 94. 

So when my birthday came around this year, you can imagine my reaction when I received this text message below from his aid on the morning of my birthday:

I had just gotten into my car to go to Saturday morning bible study, when I saw that text. I sensed there was something serious going on and there certainly was! 

At that point, Dad was not yet receiving overnight aid coverage. His aid would arrive early in the morning and leave after dinner, once settling Dad into bed for the evening, giving him his medicine and he was sound asleep. On November 2nd, 24 hour coverage began. 

That morning when Maria arrived at his townhome, she found Dad on the ground in the front doorway, right were he had fallen. Maria asked Dad why he had gotten out of bed. He said he was "going to his car." The aid asked him where he was going.  He said he didn't know. Dad did not have his car keys and he didn't know where he was going. He was just "going."

Dad was bruised from the fall and in pain. Since Dad was "under Hospice care," Maria got permission from Hospice to call 911.  Dad was taken in an ambulance to the hospital to be checked for any serious injuries.  Fortunately nothing was broken, so the hospital discharged Dad hours later. 

From that day, Dad went down hill rapidly. I started overnight aid coverage. Both my sister and I made trips to visit Dad. I was scheduled to go back again on the 25th.

22 days after my birthday, the morning of the 24th, I had woken up very early with unsettling thoughts about Dad. I turned on Shabbat services at Central Synagogue on YouTube from the day before. I had just listened to the cantor sing the Shema. A moment later the call came.  

I answered the phone in bed. I was laying in my dark bedroom.  The aid spoke first.  She said, "He couldn't wait." I was speechless. She repeated, "Your father didn't wait for you. Then she handed the phone to Rose, who was the Hospice crisis nurse.  Rose told me she had just pronounced Dad deceased. Time of death was 3:48 AM.

Dad died early in the morning on the 24th, but he was "going" 22 days prior, on my birthday.  The number 22 continues to follow me. 

R.I.P. Mark Ivan Ritter, Dad. Your memory is for a blessing.  🙏

MODERN TECHNOLGY REVEALS WHAT THE APOSTLE JOHN UNDERSTOOD 2000 YEARS AGO

The Sudarium Christi / CES

In the Gospel of John we read of his firsthand personal experience of arriving at the tomb following the crucifixion of Jesus. John is the first person in the world to believe in and understand the ressurection. It was not the empty tomb that first convinced John, since he doesn't even mention that. It is seeing the linen-clothes and the handkerchief, the Sudarium, folded together and laying apart.

John 20:4-9 KJV -- So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

Sudarium of Oviedo

The handkerchief in verse 7 above is the Sudarium of Oviedo, a bloodstained cloth kept in the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo, Spain. The Greek word "soudarion" and Latin "sudarium," both mean a ‘sweat-cloth’ for wiping the sweat from the face.  In Greek-Roman times handkerchiefs were in fashion. These handkerchiefs were frequently used to tie up small bundles of certain possessions. As a rule, the dead had their faces covered with one or had it tied around the head.

It is believed that the face-cloth which was placed on the face/head of Jesus following his crucifixion, is the famous Sudarium of Oviedo.  This small linen napkin measures approximately 2¾ feet by 1¾ feet. By contrast,  The burial Shroud is over 14 feet long and 3 feet wide.

Shroud of Turin 

The Sudarium would have been wrapped over the head of Jesus while his relatives waited for permission to remove the body; and so the stains show that the body was held in a vertical position with the head dropping back. At the back of the head, the cloth shows blood from deep puncture wounds, similar to the wounds on the Shroud of Turin, most likely made by the crown of thorns.

A second, overlaying stain was produced by fluids excreted from the nostrils when the body was lain horizontally. According to the Investigation Team from the Spanish Centre for Sindology, which has been studying the Sudarium since 1989, this second set of stains is composed of one part AB-type blood and six parts oedemal fluid. This fluid proves, according to scientists, that the victim died from asphyxiation—which is the cause of death for people who are crucified.

Knowledge Has Increased To Reveal the Truth

What makes the Sudarium so interesting is the recent discoveries that unequivocally link the Sudarium of Oviedo and the Shroud of Turin. We know now that the Sudarium and the Shroud covered the same body.

The Artifacts Started Out Together

There are many similarities between the Sudarium of Oviedo and the Shroud of Turin, leading to the undeniable conclusion that they covered the same person: 

• The material used in the two cloths is identical, although there are differences in the manner of weaving.
• The marks on the two cloths match in size, location, and how they formed. The stains on the back of the two cloths match. 
• Blood and lymph stains on the two cloths match. The AB blood type is common in the Middle East, not Europe in the time.
• Both cloths have a nose that is 8 centimeters (3 inches) long. 
• The dirt molecules in the cloth in the location of the nose where Jesus hit the ground when he fell while carrying the cross beam match the dirt from there in Jerusalem.
• Similar pollen grains are found on both cloths and they come from the same region in the Land.
• Both cloths contain aloe and myrrh, which were used by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea to treat Jesus's body. 
• The beard and forehead and the blood stain locations are all exact matches

The Sudarium of Oviedo and the Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin has undergone considerably more scientific testing than any other relic in human history.”  —Fr. Spitzer

The Shroud of Turin is the best known religious relic throughout the world. Literally hundreds of books, and thousands of papers and articles have been written on the Shroud of Turin. The Review of Religions magazine has covered the Shroud multiple times. 

The cloth bares an image of a crucified man. The proponents of the Shroud believe it to be the actual burial cloth used to cover the body of Jesus over 2 thousand years ago.

The Sudarium of Oviedo, on the other hand, is far less famous but it independently supports the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin and provides new evidence about what happened to Jesus immediately after the crucifixion

Far fewer books and articles exist covering this cloth and it has never had the level of mainstream media coverage as the Shroud. The Shroud of Turin has always attracted more attention due to the image formed upon the shroud of a crucified man. 

To the naked eye the Sudarium a small cloth with some stains of blood and water. There isn't the image on the Sudarium like the Shroud. The Sudarium would have been removed before preparing the body, so it actually makes sense that there isn't as much of an image. The Light of the ressurection didn't have to pass through the Sudarium. But the blood was preserved since the Light filled the tomb. 

Chain of Custody 

There is no doubt that the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo were together at one time - In the Tomb! The two linens were separated from there and eventually carried away to other countries. 

The Shroud has a mysterious chain of custody until the 1300's when it showed up. Unlike the Shroud, the Sudarium has never been missing, so there’s no question regarding its ancient origin and chain of custody. 

* More complete details about the chain of custody are at the end of this post. 

Kept Apart 

In John 20.7 we learn that "the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself." 

The scriptures make a point of saying the Shroud and the Sudarium were placed apart. The Sudarium was "in a place by itself." They have NOT been together since Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus put Jesus in the tomb. I find the wording "folded together" interesting. It seems to be emphasizing their belonging together. 

The two artifacts are kept apart; so much so that they are defined by the locations in their names: "of Turin" and "of Oviedo."

Is There A Message in Their Seperation?

I wondered about this. Why would who ever took the Shroud out of the tomb leave the Sudarium and visa versa? I noticed how each artifact reinforces trust in the other. Each artifact tells part of story of the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. Bringing them together the story is more clear and complete.

Could Jesus be sending a message by their separation? Could it be that Jesus wanted the two artifacts to be separated until this time?  If so, are their any clues in the facts we know?

The Shroud is in Turin Italy and the Sudarium is in Oviedo Spain. They are 680 miles apart. Could that number, 680, reveal something which God wants the world to know?

As a Jew I have a thing for the numbers in the Torah. The Torah is full of numbers and equations. The Universe is mathmatical. The Laws of the Universe are mathmatical. Surely God could have given us message in separating the Shroud and the Sudarium! 

Coincidence? To satisfy my curiosity I checked the gematria for that number, 680 miles. Frankly, I was not expecting any significant results.   I noticed two gematria matches right away that blew my mind.

1) The first, while related, wasn't all that impressive. One gematria value for the #680 is "Trust In God."

What I like about this result is it does fit in with my theory that the shroud is "the sign of Jonah." 

2) התערה = 680 that Hebrew word is found in Lamentations 4.21.  In Lamentations 4.21 KJV in English it means "to make oneself naked, to expose one's own nakedness or shame."   

The full verse in KJV reads "Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked."

21 in Hebrew is the letter ש -21 - Shin.  The next verse is verse ת - 22 Tov (the last letter in the Hebrew alpha-beyt, that looks like a cross in ancient glyphs) reads, "The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins."

(680 miles is 1094 Kilometers. That matches "Jesuits.")

My Conclusion

The Sudarium has the evidence of the final moments and the last breath Jesus took as a man. The Shroud has the evidence of Jesus's crucifixion, time in the tomb and ressurection.  Together they testify to the gospel, the fulfillment of prophecies in the Tenach. 

If there is a message in their separation then there is a message in them coming together.

Modern science has brought the images of the Shroud and the Sudarium together again for the first time in 2000 years. Increased knowledge reveals what the Apostle John understood when he saw the Linen-clothes and the folded together in a place by itself.

John 20.8-9 -- Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead

Previous blog posts:

A Love Letter From Yeshua 

The Perfector 

The Keter on the Shroud 

Asking Questions About the Image on the Shroud 

Credible Witnesses 

The Man In the Shroud  

Have You Seen Him?

Nicodemus Knew

* Chain of Custody:  Before the Crusaders came into possession of the Sudarium it was, according to an account by Antoninus of Piacenza, hidden in a cave near the monastery of St. Mark, not far from Jerusalem. When Persian forces invaded the Byzantine provinces in 614, the oak case in which the Sudarium was kept was spirited out of Palestine through northern Africa by Philip “the Presbyter,” a leader of the Christian community in Palestine. Philip and his precious cargo were welcomed to Alexandria by John the Almoner, bishop of Alexandria at the time. When the Persians pushed on into Egypt, the chest was carried into Spain and entrusted to St. Fulgentius, who sent it on to Seville. The Ark was carried from Toledo north to Monte Sacro in Asturias in 711 A.D., to escape the advancing Moors. It was there that King Alfonso II turned back the Moors and erected a Camara Santa (holy chamber) to shelter the relics. King Alfonso had the ancient oak chest plated with silver with the inscription “The Sacred Sudarium of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Sudarium made its way to the town of Oviedo, in north-central Spain, where it has been venerated for centuries. Since 631 A.D. the Sudarium was in the possession of the Knights Templar, the Moors, El Cid, saints and bishops. In A.D. 840, King Alfonso II of Asturias erected a chapel to protect the Sudarium, which was enshrined in an elaborate reliquary chest called the Arca Santa. The Sudarium is now housed in a reliquary with a Romanesque metal frontal, and is displayed for the public in Oviedo three times each year: Good Friday, The Feast of the Triumph of the Cross (Sept. 14), and on the Octave of the Feast (Sept. 21).

Sources: 

The Sudarium of Oviedo and the Shroud 

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/the-sudarium-of-oviedo-the-other-shroud-of-jesus

https://www.magiscenter.com/blog/facts-about-shroud-turin

Chain of Custody

Shroud DNA Analysis 

MY FATHER DIED IN ROSE'S HANDS

Mark Ivan Ritter

I never met my father's mother Rose, my grandmother. My grandmother died when Dad was 18. My first name Robert, was named after her. (My middle Hebrew name Jonah is after my mother’s grandfather Joseph.) 

I always wished I could have talked to Rose. If only to hear her voice. 

This morning I woke up very early thinking about my father. I put on my headphones and started to listen to Shabbat worship songs from Central Synagogue. They were singing Hashkiveinu, which I love, but I didn't like the version they were doing so I forwarded to the next worship song, the Shema. 

During the Shema I had some deep thoughts about Adonia, and the complexity of "Oneness." Then the phone rang. 

I have to digress. Yesterday afternoon I booked a flight to go back to see my father again. He is in the crisis stage, but he is holding on. I thought it might help to be with him and reassure him with prayers. Now back to the phone call.

The called ID came up, "Maria, Dad's Aid." So I knew. It was Maria, Dad's beloved aid who has cared for him the past two years. She and I have grown close. She is a strong believer. Maria didn't say hello. She simply said, "He didn't wait for you." I was speechless.  So Maria handed the phone to the Hospice crisis nurse. 

The Hospice nurse said, "Robert, this is Rose."

I said, "Rose?" 

"Yes," she said. 

I said "Rose, that is my father's mother's name." 

Rose seemed to understand my reaction. 

I thought to myself that Rose's voice was so sweet and tender.  

Rose said, "Your father passed at 3:48am. 

Then Rose told me she was washing him and telling him it would be alright. This was the start of the 4th day that Dad has been asleep with no food or water. But we know he is listening. I started to imagine what my father was thinking; when the nurse arrived for the evening shift and said to Dad, "Mark, my name is Rose; I will be taking care of you tonight." And, when she was using a warm towel to clean him like a mother wipes off a baby.  I wonder if Dad thought he was in his mother Rose's hands? 

Rose said, "Your father did a small cough, and then he just stopped breathing." He died so fast. He was very peaceful. Your father was very peaceful." 

Very Peaceful. Perfect peace. Shalom Shalom.

Rose handed the phone back to Maria. Who shared a priceless message about the last night with Dad. 

Rest in peace Dad. Your name is for a blessing. Amen. 

Obituary