“If the entire burial were paid for, do you think your brother would have wanted a Jewish burial?”
As told to Rabbi Moshe Dov Heber by Shneur Steinberg
I run a hospice in Michigan, and over the years, I’ve seen many moments of pain and many moments of quiet courage. But one recent experience will stay with me forever.
A few months ago, I received a phone call from the sister of one of our patients, Jeremy Hoffman, who was living in a nursing facility but receiving hospice services from us. The woman’s voice trembled as she spoke. She explained that she couldn’t travel to be with her brother, and he had no other family. She’d had no choice but to ask the court to appoint a state guardian for him. From that point on, every decision about his care was out of her hands.
Not long ago, she told me, she’d sent a friend to visit him. The friend’s report was painful. “Jeremy doesn’t look well,” she said. “He hasn’t had a haircut in a long time, and his clothes aren’t clean.”
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