I am really shaken up. I used to wonder to myself, half-jokingly, if I were to suddenly drop dead, if anyone here would notice. Sure, my family and friends would, but would anyone on DDF notice? As much as we joke around that we're a family, it's not like we actually are - heck, most of us don't even know each other's real names.
But with this news I realize the truth: we are family, and every one of us is special. When I read the news this morning, I cried. I cried real, bitter tears. Tears for someone I'd never met, whose poor young wife's plight I can only imagine, whose family had him snatched away from them in his prime. Because even though we never met him, we knew him. We knew what he'd say and when ("REPOST!!!!!), we noticed immediately when he went missing, and now people are signing up to learn in his memory without a moment's hesitation.
Like it or not, DDF is a family. And if you are reading this, chances are you are part of it. And if you've been around here long enough, I have no doubt that you feel the loss of JEWDA the way I - and others who have expressed themselves - do. Even if you aren't crying, you know he's gone, and it bothers you terribly. Take a masechta, or even split one with someone, and help perpetuate his legacy for eternity.
I've deliberately never had an avatar on DDF, but on this occasion, I've created one in memory of JEWDA. That will be my avatar, accompanied by my new signature, for at least the next 7 days. If you would like to join me, feel free to use it as your avatar as well (I've attached it below for your convenience), and you can make your own memorial signature as well if you wish.
To JEWDA... I know that where you are, you can see m'sof ha'olam v'ad sofo, and you can read this: you will be missed... terribly. We've never seen you smile, but your simcha made us all smile. You've never physically given us a hand, but your digital hand has always been there for us. Your time here was a lesson in ahavas yisroel and kiddush sheim shomayim, and we will miss you. May you be a meilitz yosher for us all, and may we be zoche very soon to the ultimate DO - in Yerushalayim, with Mashiach Tzidkeinu. Amen.
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