Asking Q abt Dying after levaya today

amother

Wed, Jan 03 2024, 8:19 pm

My 4 year old daughter's teacher told them that R' Matisyahu Salamon a big tzadik was niftar today and she came home asking so many questions. "where did he go, when is he coming back, how does someone die??"

How do I answer these questions to a little kid?

amother

Foxglove

Wed, Jan 03 2024, 8:45 pm

My kids each went through this stage and I answer honestly but simply. Everyone dies, most people when they are old and lived a good life. Their body goes in the ground and the neshama goes to shamayim. The neshama is who you really are and it never dies. The person who died is not sad, their neshama lives on. But the people who loved the niftar miss them and are very sad.

I have some pretty anxious children but BH this answer has always been what they needed to hear. And it’s the truth!

giftedmom

Wed, Jan 03 2024, 8:50 pm

The body goes in a box into the ground and the neshama goes to gan Eden. If they ask what a neshama is you explain it’s like the battery that makes the body work.