Of course there are no true answers...only speculations.

Ariel was a gift. Bestowed upon you and Karen. Yours to nurture.

You were a gift to Ariel. You and Karen and the girlses. For Ariel to embrace.

You were gifts to one another. These gifts of "self" enriched one another's lives...and continue to do so.

Happy Birthday, Ariel.

I am truly speechless after reading this post. I simply wanted to reach out and say I am a witness to your unfathomable anguish.

Perhaps someday, some or all of Ariel's writings can be published.

What a difficult season this must be for you all. My thoughts are with you at this difficult time. What a beautiful man he was. Thank you for sharing him with us.

As much as you and Karen may be too humble to realize it, I believe you nutured him to what Ariel became even if it was indirectly.

This post about Ariel's Pesach scholarship reminded me of a story which I now realize also strengthens the above point.

Starting as a very young boy, a friend of mine's dad used to always require him to contribute a "little Torah" to the family's large Passover seder with lots of guests. Every year, his dad would come into his room in the days before Passover and remind him sternly to "be ready with something learned for the seder." The boy would study, find something and either write it out or memorize it year after year. He would wait patiently for his chance... just hoping he wouldn't forget his point or say something wrong... and usually, sometime before the end of the seder when everyone was really pooped the father would say: "We're about to finish, but before we do that, I PROMISED my son I would LET HIM say a few words.

That's how it went year after year. The boy who had worked so hard to please his dad with Torah scholarship was embarrassed as he was made to look like some needy kid who had to grab some of the spotlight just when everyone wanted to go.

So I see the way that, even after Ariel is gone, you continue to cherish his words, and I know you were always encouraging him in a positive way. I know you helped this tree of knowledge grow and never felt threatened or embarrassed by his scholarship and devotion.

Pearl:

Your notes to us are always a gift. Thank you.

Tamara:

We have been talking about how to properly publish Ariel's notebooks. It's a massive job.

Thank you so much for also thinking of it.

Stacey

Good to hear from you. We've missed your lovely voice. It's odd, I never think of Ariel as a man, I always think of him as my child. But you know what, he was a man. Thank you.

Your humility and generosity are gifts to those of us who read your blog. I can only imagine you were blessed with Ariel because G-d knew you and Karen would not waste a second of his precious time on Earth. You are such kind nurturing people, and I am in awe of how often you walk through your own pain to share with others.

Obviously, I have no words of comfort, other than to note that the words that Ariel left for you are truly a gift that reflects how you both impacted him: the writer in you and Karen's rabbinic heritage and the community in which you lived also undoubtedly made an impact. And that Karen found them now, of all times, is bashert.

If you don't mind my saying so, I've learned another lesson from this post: as a writer, it's a comfort to realize that words on the page live on, and reach people beyond our intended immediate audience.

(This was written and sent to Robert earlier today.)

April 2

What is a birthday without you?
[Certainly not just...] A piece of cake.

What is a day without you?
24 unbearably long hours.

What is a life without you?
Baby steps.
Awkward movements of placing one foot
in front of the other.
An obligation, in order to keep moving forward.
A test of our endurance.
A test of time.

Robert and Karen: Your labors to remember ... will be remembered.

Jake:

We all know what a tremendous Talmudic scholar and Rabbi your father is--and in some ways you have inherited his skills, at least as far as Midrash, legends, are concerned, for they come at us post after post, always appropriate and always deeply touching.

In "The Book of Ariel," there is an amazing article Ariel wrote: "Bringing Purim Into Pesach," page 113. It is one of the last divrei Torah Ariel composed.

With tubes snaking in and out of his body, his heart fluctuating wildly, his lungs shrunken and scarred, our son set all the physical pain (and it was considerable) aside concentrated every fibre of his being on this incredibly dense exegesis.

The article discusses the various connections between the holidays of Purim and Passover. It is incredibly beautiful for here Ariel gives voice to his perfect belief in: "...the eternity of the Jewish People...which gives us instant joy; thus we effortlessly dance and sing."

Ariel wrote this when he was trapped in a body that was barely able to climb out of a hospital bed.

How much did Karen and I have to do with such an immaculate soul?

I have no answer.

But we thank you, endlessly, for your most generous answer.

Funnily enough, at this moment, I'm copy editing prelims for a *Christian romance* novel. The prelim pages offers up a quote from Mishlei/Proverbs, 23:24:

"The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice; and he that begets a wise child shall have joy in him."

Ariel was both righteous and wise...and you can continue to have joy in knowing that.

Lisa:

I never feel like I'm "walking through my pain," but, in fact, stumbling. Karen and I thank you for your very special friendship.

Esther:

Your words that you think are not words of comfort are indeed a great measure of comfort.

As it is written: "Life and death lie in the power of the tongue."

Karen and I are grateful for every one of your words.

Pearl sent us this poem privately, but it moved me so deeply that I asked her to set aside her modesty and share it with the Seraphic Community.

Thank you, Pearl, for everything.

Jeremiah:

If Karen and I are remembered, it will be as the parents of all our amazing children. As always your words are just perfect.

I can recall the blue ink vividly. I also remember the notebooks Ariel ZT'L would write in. As classmates we could always rely on Ariel’s notes to help prepare for tests, knowing that there was not a part of the Rebbe's Shiur (lesson) that he missed.

Ariel appreciated the value of a good fountain pen. To me a nice pen is something I use or keep in my pocket because it looks good. To Ariel it was a beautiful instrument that he could use to write words of Torah with. When it comes to doing mitzvot, positive commandments, we try and do them with nice things. We use silver cups for Kiddush why shouldn’t we use beautiful pens to write down the words of the torah?

Ari:

It's particularly gratifying to hear from you, who was so close with Ariel from grade school all the way through high school.

I can still remember the last time you and all the Yeshiva Gedolah boys were here visiting Ariel during Succos. You brought pizza, potato chips, and soda. Inside the house I sat and listened to the songs you all sang together. Ariel was so happy.

And I know that Ariel would be overjoyed that you, one of his very best friends, are engaged to a beautiful young woman, and soon to be married.

A Seraphic Mazal Tov, Ari.

The Talmud says that when you review the Torah of a deceased person his lips move in the grave. By repeating his Torah thoughts you are bringing him back to life.

E Man:

That is beautiful and appropriate. I would love to have the Masechet and daf so I can look it up and learn it in context. Perhaps repeat it at the Pesach table.

Kol Tuv.

Robert,

You and Karen clearly did a wonderful job raising your children. Thank you for sharing a part of him with us.

I found the following references for the Gemara for you:
Yevamos 97A
Sanhedrin 90B
Bechoros 31B
It is indeed a very inspiring thought, that we bring our Sages (and in your case, loved one) to life not only in our memory, but in reality.

Jack:

Very kind of you. Wish you could have met Ariel face to face.

Hmmm:

Thanks so much for the references. Now I have some very special divrei Torah for the Passover seders.

Robert,

Me too, me too.

Given that Pesach is coming up, would you feel comfortable transcribing and posting them here? It would be a lot of work, but I would love to read them. Maybe scan them and post pdf files.

PS Sorry, I didn't read all the comments. I hope you do get to publish them, and I can imagine what an undertaking it would be. (Maybe his yeshiva bochurs would volunteer to transcribe?)

Yehudit:

Karen and I are discussing what is the proper way to handle Ariel's notebooks.

We would like you and others to be aware that in "The Book of Ariel," published by Seraphic Press, there are several divrei Torah by Ariel that he wrote before he was niftar and was very happy with. All proceeds go directly to the Ariel Avrech Memorial Lecture. You can order the book by clicking the picture on the sidebar.

Karen and I are concerned about publishing raw notes.

Thank you so much for asking.