Thursday, May 28, 2009

Baruch Dayan HaEmes

The Aish community wishes condolences to Donna Karmel whose uncle, Mark Richard, Moishe Michel ben Rochel, passed away on Shabbos after a year battle with pancreatic cancer. Donna would like to thank the Aish community for praying for him for over a year.   
 
 
My uncle, Mark Richard, Moishe Michel ben Rochel, passed away on Shabbos.  He may have held the highest position in the U.S. government’s executive branch (that was not a political appointment) of any Jew.  In any case, he was a special human being.   My Uncle Mark was my inspiration for becoming a lawyer.   He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice for about 40 years.  He was Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice for about 25 years.  In that position, he dealt with both national and international criminal issues.  He did outstanding work as a public servant.  A couple weeks after retiring, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  The U.S. Attorney General and the head of the criminal division spoke at his funeral in Maryland on Monday.  My uncle was truly a mensch.  At 6’6”, he was a gentle giant.  When I last saw my uncle a few months before he passed away, while I was sitting shiva for my brother, we discussed what happens to our soul when we die and the purpose of why we’re here.   I had obtained most of my information from Lori Polatnik’s book,  Remember My Soul – What to Do in Memory of a Loved One:   A Path of Reflection and Inspiration for Shiva, the Stages of Jewish Mourning and Beyond.  I sent it to my uncle and was told that it was very helpful to him.  Thank G-d, after all he had given to me and all of his inspiration, I was finally able to give back to him.  And now that he is gone, I sent a copy to each of his children and my aunt has his copy.  I hope it will bring solace and inspiration to each of them.  I want to thank the Aish community for praying for my uncle’s refuah for over a year.
 
 
Tamar Sullivan
Community Coordinator
Aish Los Angeles
tamar@aishla.com
 

// posted by William Gross @ 6:33 AM




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