[HANASHIR:11030] RE: Halacha

[Meris Ruzow <meris...>]

Friends, I look to you for some advice because my rabbi is currently in
Israel and won't be back till late Sunday night.  My father in law, who
was also a good friend of mine died suddenly yesterday morning.  My
husband and I were on the way to NY and we got the call on the Thruway.
We turned around and came back home.  He was a healthy man, so this
comes as a terrible shock to the family.   My question to you is this:
He spends the winters in Arizona so they have to ship the body back to
NY before we can bury him, etc.  Two things:  I have been told by one
person that since Purim is not a yom tov, it is more important not to
desecrate the body and to bury him as speedily as possible, which would
be Mon or Tues probably.   Can anyone provide any other possible
answers?  Also - I am in a terrible bind;  The last thing I feel like
doing now is being happy, jolly and leading all the music for the
Purimshpiel/service.     What do I do?   My main obligation, I feel, is
to my husband who is distraught.  I think it would be terribly
disrespectful to leave the family to "do my job" at temple.   However,
the whole congregation looks so forward  to this, that I feel badly
about that too......... I know what my heart says and it says not to do
it.   I guess I could try to find some kind of replacement but there's
really no one here.   Guess I'm just looking to see if you've ever been
in a situation like this.

Thanks so much and thanks for the support of this list in good times AND
sad.
Meris Ruzow

Meris (at) nycap(dot)rr(dot)com



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