Jewish practices of burial and death are constructed around a few key ideas: Death is to be confronted, not denied. The dead body is to be accorded the utmost respect. Mourners are to be comforted. We are equal in the face of death. The burial and decay of a body is a natural process which should not be impeded or interrupted.
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Dignity in Life, Dignity in Death: One Perspective on the Chevra Kaddisha | Article
By Juliet I. Spitzer, MSEd.
A touching view of this uniquely Jewish ritual which accords profound respect to the individual between death and burial
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El Malei Rachamim | Prayer
Traditional memorial prayer recited at funerals in which God is asked to gather up the soul of the departed for eternal life
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Psalm 23 | Prayer
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want..." This beautiful psalm is often read at funerals or memorial services.
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Taking Out the Torah at a Funeral Service | Ritual Component
By Rabbi Arlene Schuster
A tradition honoring a Torah reader at a funeral
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For a Grandfather | Poem
By Dana Shuster
A poem about the metaphorical seeds a grandfather sowed for his descendants
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For a Parent | Poem
By Linda Pastan
"Move to the front—of the line—a voice says..."
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Memory of Joe and Others | Poem
By Laurie Gross
A poem describing the ritual of removing the tzitzit from a dead person's tallit and giving them to his or her beloveds prior to burial
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Dirge Without Music | Poem
By Edna St. Vincent Millay
"I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground./ So it is, and so it will be..."
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Memorywork | Poem
By Jack Riemer and Sylvan D. Kamens
"In the rising of the sun and in its going down, we remember them."
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Home | Poem
By Alexandra Grilikhes
A poem describing the palpable absence of a dead mother
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The Five Stages of Grief | Poem
By Linda Pastan
A poem about the journey of grief
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