I find it interesting how similar the Muslim tradition is with Judaism, which is probably one of the reasons why it was so easy for my dad to "catch up" with the change in my life. In Judaism, when a person makes it possible for another person to do a mitzvah (a commandment), the "enabler" will share in the merit of the the person carrying out the commandment. For example, when someone donates a prayer book in memory of a deceased person, the donor and the deceased will both share in the merit of whoever prays using the book. The Muslims believe the same. Today marks 40 days since my dad passed away. Most of the Muslims in Java have a tradition of gathering on the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 40th day (and even 100th day, followed by 1 year, 2 years and 1000th day) of someone's death to offer up prayers for the deceased. For some reason, the 40th day is special and involves handing out a special goodie bag which not only contains a lunch and snack box, but also a prayer book (which includes the book of Yaasin, and prayers for the soul of the departed - perhaps similar to the Jewish prayer Kel Male Rachamim) and a special item which will not only serve as a souvenir of remembrance to the deceased but also to help elevate the deceased neshama. We opted to include a sarong, which Indonesian Muslims usually wear for their daily prayers. By providing them with an item which is used in their daily prayers, whenever they wear it while praying, the Muslims believe that my dad's soul will share in the merit of the person praying. Pictured here are 25 men who gathered to pray for my dad today, and the blue goodie bags in the foreground, and Elisheva on video call on my phone, listening in to the prayers. We printed two types of prayer book: the exclusive grey ones for families and the mosque my dad frequented on Fridays and holidays, and the blue batik one for public distribution. #rememberingdad #soelaimanbenabsar #soelaimanbennaswiyah #beingjewish #kibudavveim https://www.instagram.com/p/CEAwwKAFA5M/?igshid=iyw02edm02ir