Jewish tradition instruction children to mourn the loss of a parent for a full year. A year to recover. A year to figure out what it means to be the child of a parent who is no longer physically present. A year to live in a state of memory. A year to begin setting a parent’s shortcomings into perspective. A year to figure out how to live without one who gave you life. A year to begin letting go of the hurt.
Losing a parent leaves an ineffable void. This loss is granted the longest period of mourning by the Jewish tradition that seeks to limit mourning periods. A year’s worth of attention is a salute to a parent’s ultimate gift to a child: life.
After the Shloshim and until the first anniversary of a death, the mourner stays away from purely social parties but attends religious events like weddings, bar mitzvahs, circumcisions, and brit habat celebrations.
