Mirvis and Welby speak out over grief
CHIEF RABBI Ephraim Mirvis has spoken of the deep and lasting pain that losing a loved-one can cause.
Rabbi Mirvis lost his eldest child, Liora Graham, in 2011 after a long battle with colon cancer. He reflected on his grief and mourning in an interview with Today programme presenter Justin Webb, in which he was joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who lost his daughter Johanna in a car crash in 1983 when she was just seven months old.
“No two bereavements are the same. If anybody comes along and says, I know exactly what you’re going through, they don’t. Because grief is something personal.
“When one has suffered a deep loss, it’s with one for the rest of one’s life. And one thinks of the person every single day, and there is sadness,” Rabbi Mirvis said.
The chief rabbi’s daughter, who was diagnosed in 2009, is survived by her husband Jonny and their two children, Kinneret and Elitzur.
A Facebook page in her memory pays tribute to the “devoted wife” and “amazing mother” who “used up every bit of her energy even at the most difficult of times to shower them with love and affection.”
Rabbi Mirvis urged all those seeking to support bereaved loved ones to offer practical help.
“In the course of time, those who have suffered grief are hardly likely to remember the words you’ve said.
“I think we should primarily focus on two things; the first is to be there, be with people, give them that support, cocoon them with the warmth of your care.
“Number two, practical help. What can you do to help?”
In a video released on Tuesday to mark National Grief Awareness Week, Mr Welby said grief can sometimes catch you by “surprise.” “There are days that are predictable. And then there are other days when suddenly something happens.
“It happened to me a couple of weeks ago, and I just suddenly thought, what would she be like?,” he said.
It’s with one for the rest of one’s life’