“I don’t get why it has to be a full seven days.”
“Read the Book of Job. That’s where sitting Shiva comes from.”
“I’ll get right on that.”
“I don’t appreciate your tone.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“I just don’t understand why. It’s not like you’re orthodox. And who was she to you anyway, that you need to sit by her body for a week?”
“She was my mother’s oldest sister. You never met her.”
“I haven’t met anyone in your family aside from your mom.”
“I know you haven’t.”
“You think they won’t approve of me. Is that it?”
“No.”
That’s an interesting depiction of the confusion that often comes from mixing of religions and cultures in general. It takes a while to let new things set in
I think she should leave now. That refusal to discuss perfectly reasonable questions bodes ill.
Ah, interesting! In truth, one does not need to sit Shiva for an aunt (only for immediate relatives: Father and mother, husband or wife, sister or brother, son or daughter). Also, of course, one does not sit by the body for seven days, because in Jewish tradition, the ‘Shiva’ follows the funeral, which tends to take place as soon as possible, sometimes even in the same day (i.e. in Jerusalem) or the next. Great depiction of the mish-mash and confusion about what is tradition and why and who may or may not be included …
Na’ama