Sarah Davis survived the Holocaust. Decades later, when she was 95, she succumbed to COVID-19. Six of us stood around her grave at measured distances from one another; her children and grandson spoke of her life. In the far distance, four mortuary employees waited for the service to conclude so they could fill in the gravesite. All of us wore masks.
Later that same day, a woman whose father had died called to ask about sitting shiva, the week of mourning in the Jewish tradition, in this time of pandemic. “The first requirement is staying home, correct?” “Yes,” I replied. “Everyone is doing that anyway,” she said. “I suppose,” I told her, “the whole world is sitting shiva.” She said she found it strangely comforting.
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