Prayer and the support of community provide comfort when a loved one has been lost, as was evident yesterday at Temple Sinai in Saratoga Springs, where people gathered for the evening service led by Rabbis Linda Motzkin and Jonathan Rubenstein to honor the memory of Gloria Mandelbaum, the mother of Rhoda Pickus.

Two readings from the book used for the service touched me for their poetic reminder of the circle of life. They are relevant, regardless of one’s religious beliefs. These are the excerpts:

From the prayer book: “All that we prize is but lent to us; and the time comes when we must surrender it.”

And, adapted from “Touching Peace,” by Thich Nhat Hanh: “One day as I was about to step on a dry leaf, I saw … that it was not really dead, but it was merging with the moist soil and preparing to appear on the tree the following spring in another form.”