Soul of our souls, elder of our hearts.
May their names never leave our lips or our hearts so that the forces of death can never claim victory: Khaled & Reem.
Today, I remain in mourning for Palestinian elder and “soul of our souls” Khaled Nabhan. Killed on December 16, 2024 during Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. His granddaughter Reem who joyfully ran into his arms and tugged at his beard as he pulled on her pigtails was awaiting him since she died some time before him when her home collapsed on her from a bomb blast. Reem is the “soul of my soul,” said Khaled. And he became ours.
Khaled was not just an elder to his people but to the entire world. He danced with children and sang while making bread and nursed orphaned cats even as he mourned the deaths of his beloveds. He lived with joy alongside his heartbreak. He spoke of his dead family, spoke of his love, carried mementoes, told the world. And also carried on.
There are so few like him any longer. So few people who remain open to delight after their love has broken their hearts, so few people who stand in a faith that keeps them sturdy yet soft, that helps them touch into love even as the forces of genocide–a problem from hell–rain down on them. Make no mistake, a mystic was taken from this good Earth.
As I scroll through tributes on social media accounts and weep and weep and weep, I come across this comment more than once, “This world didn’t deserve him.” But I couldn’t disagree more as I watch and rewatch the video of elder Khaled joyfully embrace his granddaughter Reem from a time before their murders. For this love is exactly what this world deserves. His example, his faith, his life, his joy. It’s exactly what we deserve. We the brokenhearted, we the weary and heavy-laden. Soul of our souls, elder of our hearts.
They are taking our elders from us. I cannot stop weeping. May his memory be a blessing. May he rest in peace and joy for all time. And may we never stop believing that this good Earth deserves mystics and prophets and givers of love. May we become too vast for them to kill us all, may our love and joy stretch across our lineages and may their names never leave our lips or our hearts so that the forces of death can never claim victory. For we remember a man who lived with joy until the very end. Khaled Nabhan. And Reem.
We are strong. We are soft. We are wise. We are resilient. We will keep our stories alive.