As the traditional seven days of shiva came to an end, our family — our close mishpahah — rise from the low chairs. In the wake of a sudden and incomprehensible tragedy, the natural human instinct is to fixate on the event itself: the horrific car accident, the shock, the sheer, crushing unfairness of a young life – a loving wife and mother of four, daughter, and sister – cut short. But the circumstances of our niece Allison Rahmani’s death do not define her. As the period of most intense mourning transitions into the long road of living with her absence, the focus must shift entirely to who Ally was, the light she brought into the world, and the lessons she left behind.

I knew Ally from the time she was less than a year old, a sweet, radiant little girl at our wedding. Living across the ocean in Israel, our time together was sporadic, but whenever we saw her, her friendly, fun........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)