A Eulogy for Yaron Abramov

English translation follows below. You are welcome to add your thoughts below in the comments.

And here I'll attempt to translate it for our international readers. It was mostly written by my sister with small additions by me.

It's over, Father no longer suffers. We are broken and sad, but feel relieved for him.

Some of you knew him better than others. He was a man commanding vast fascinating knowledge in a myriad subjects, especially anything and everything to do with the land of Israel – Theology, culture, geology and archeology. A tour guide with fans all over the globe, who loved to cook and eat well, loved documenting in all types of cameras, gadget appreciator, champion driver/navigator and his super power was finding parking spots right in front of where he needed; all of it with intelligent humour and puns. Some of those we inherited this way or another, and some just enriched our lives and created wonderful joint experiences and pleasant memories. Mainly he was a loving, hugging father with wonder hands that made all pains vanish.

He touched, even for a moment, the lives of thousands he guided along his years, and at the same time he was a very private man himself. He loved taking trips everywhere, always discovering new places and roads, a passionate learner and teacher. He converted sceptics to Zionists, and for the last few days we got letters from as far as Korea and the western USA. He guided people also overseas, he had a long love affair with Europe and its roads, and especially Berlin, where he managed to get even its natives to their own city a little deeper.

And on the days he did not work as a guide, he loved his home, with a peaceful cup of tea and music, the old books and movies. He never stopped studying and seeking deeper knowledge, and this morning, when the Discovery channel offered us to film the funeral for an anthropological docu about funerals, we felt it was the most befitting parting gift for a man who loved travelling and meeting people so much. This way he will continue travelling the world on reruns for many more years.

Years before the internet and navigation software, and many years after, many would call him up to ask for directions or knowledge, and he always left us with the confident feeling we arrived at the right destination.

He will be missed in so many ways beyond these few short words.

Blessed be his memory

We buried dad at sunset, at a pastoral corner of the cemetery. Parts of the funeral will probably play on Discovery in about a year. I'll try to let everyone know.

Ira.