About a decade ago, Diane was at work, getting hot water to make tea, when a Chinese woman came up to her and asked if she’d seen Diane at Shir Hadash. That woman was Leonora Wang; her husband, Michael Levine, had been a member of Shir Hadash and she’d seen Diane when she came to mark his Yarzheit. Diane and Leonora became friends; I’d see her once in a while, too.

Leonora died earlier this year and her son, Adam, sent Diane an invitation to the Celebration of Life today. It was unlike any funeral I’ve ever attended; when we walked in, we were given a bag with seeds to plant at home, an orange from Leonora’s garden, and a towel (a Taiwanese funeral custom), and they were serving breakfast. Leonora was a Christian, but the primary officiant was her chaplain from Stanford Hospital, who is Jewish, wore a kippah, and ended the service with the El Maleh Rachamim in English and Hebrew. Her pastor also offered some prayers; Rabbi Emerita Aron from Shir Hadash sent a video as well.

It was a moving and meaningful ceremony, and I’m glad I had the chance to know Leonora, even a little bit.

Every year, Shir Hadash hosts the Levine Scholar-in-Residence programs thanks to generous funding from the Levine family. This year’s scholar-in-residence was Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz; he led Torah Study this morning and we joined via Zoom. He’s a very energetic speaker and teacher – he talked about Pirkei Avot 4:1 and how it reflects on social justice issues. I wish I’d been able to record the hour or at least take notes!

We spent the afternoon with friends, enjoying their pool. They mentioned that we might enjoy watching Poker Face, so we watched the first episode when we got home – I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the season.

I didn’t even try to make any progress on solar energy, heat pumps, cars, ripping media, or computers. It was wonderful.