Yehudah Yudkowsky is dead. He died violently, hit by a car on the I-94. This happened on November 7. On November 11, his body was identified and the news became known. At Northwestern University, we were at first told that he had committed suicide. This turned out not to be accurate, but the impact of that news continues to be felt...

Since I first heard that Yehudah was dead, I've felt the need to do something, to make some response. But what should I do? What's the response to something like this?

Should I cry?

Should I try to tell the story of his life? I wish that there were some words that I could write to tell everyone who he was, to introduce everyone to the man who is now gone.

But there are no words. Yehudah's life can't be written or typed. The story of a person's life is written not on paper, but on the hearts and minds of those who knew him. This was especially true of Yehudah, who unquestionably left his mark on everyone he met.

He was sincere. He was outgoing. He was funny. He was his own man. These are words, and they do not capture Yehudah Yudkowsky, although they describe him.

I think the only response that we can make, the best tribute to Yehudah's memory, is to cling to life, and live with passion. Yehudah was the kind of man who stuck to his guts and did what he knew was right, whether or not it was the cool and popular thing to do. We should too.

The Torah says, "החיים והמות נתתי לפניך, הברכה והקללה- ובחרת בחיים, למען תחיה, אתה וזרעך" - "...I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse- and you shall choose life, so that you shall live, you and your progeny." (דברים ל:יט)

There are two choices at this point. We could continue to mourn Yehudah's death, and lament this truly terrible loss. It is only natural and right to mourn. But if all we ever do is mourn, if we only remember Yehudah's life by mourning him, that would indeed be tragic. There comes a point at which the mourning must subside. Then, we should "choose life." We should remember Yehudah's life instead of his death, and we should live with more feeling, with a commitment to truth. We can change our lives. Not in Yehudah's memory, but in his honor.