Paul Palnik

My father died August 13th at 9:30pm. The Hebrew date being the 5th of Elul, 5781.

If you were to ask him in his prime, how and when he would like to go, I’m certain his answer would reflect perfectly the way in which it came to pass.

He was at home on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath, comfortable in his bed, with all four children and his wife of 40 plus years huddled around him tightly. My mother gently whispered words of comfort into his ear and he departed while the Holy words of the Shema were recited in unison.

“Hear O Israel, The Lord Our G-D The Lord is One.”

For good reason, I carried closely the fear of this particular day for the entirety of my adult life. Now, it has come to pass and I’m met with a plethora of emotions that I had not previously expected. As a family, we are certainly grieving, yet there is undeniable sense of relief and calm permeating throughout our household. It’s almost as if the main character in the most beautiful story, finally made it home.

My father spent his entire life tending carefully to his inner world. Watering and keeping safe his very own Garden of Eden. He is now free from the shackles of time and the limitations of flesh. He has fully entered the Kingdom of Heaven.

He must have told me thousands of times throughout my life, “when I die, we will become closer than you ever imagined.” I’m discovering the truth in that phrase with every new breath forward.

Without a doubt, we appreciate your condolences and words of comfort, but what would make us truly happy as a family, is if you shared how my father affected your life any in way, large or small.

We will carry his name forward with righteous deeds and simple acts of kindness. Below is a mural that my father painted. It dawned the outside wall of his home in Columbus, Ohio. It served as a reminder to all that passed. I believe this painting perfectly describes how he chose to conduct his life.

He is only now fully who he’s always been within. The I AM at the core of everything. No beginning. No ending. His memory will undoubtedly be a blessing.

Paul Palnik

March 28th, 1946 - August 13th, 2021

Services will be held Monday August 16, 2021 at 2:00 PM at Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel 1985 S. Taylor Rd. Cleveland Hts, OH. Interment Mt. Olive Cemetery.

To View this service please navigate to https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/authorise.php?k=1629055721130883

Memorial service to be announced for the Columbus, OH area.