On one of his journeys, Shmuel Hanagid passed by his brother’s burial-place. There he paused and addressed him as follows:
Is there a sea between me and you, that I should not turn aside to be
with you, that I should not run with a troubled heart to sit at your
grave-side? Truly, if I did not do so, I would be a traitor to our
brotherly love. O my brother, here I am, facing you, sitting by your
grave, and the grief in my heart is as great as on the day you died. If I
greeted you, I would hear no reply. You do not come out to meet me when
I visit your grounds. You will not laugh in my company, nor I in yours.
You cannot see my face, nor I yours, for the pit is your home, the
grave your dwelling-place! First-born of my father, son of my mother,
may you have peace in your final rest, and may the spirit of God rest
upon your spirit and your soul! I am returning to my own soil, for you
have been locked under the soil. Sometimes I shall sleep, sometimes
wake—while you lie in your sleep forever. But until my last day, the
fire of your loss will remain in my heart!
"Lament for His Brother", Shmuel Hanagid