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Death & Mourning

While Judaism places great emphasis on our lives in this world, death is an inevitable end for all of us. Often Jews who have been distant from traditional Jewish practice for their whole lives seek the comfort of traditional Judaism in the face of death. For mourners, whose lives are often turned upside down by death, the traditional practices of mourning can provide structure and comfort.

Lighting the Memorial Candle

A prayer to be said upon returning from the cemetery and lighting a memorial candle [more]

Found In: Death & Mourning

Tags: memorial candle lighting, shiva, Siddur Kol Haneshamah

For a Grandfather

A poem about the metaphorical seeds a grandfather sowed for his descendants [more]

Found In: Mourning & Bereavement

For a Parent

"Move to the front—of the line—a voice says..." [more]

Found In: Mourning & Bereavement

Memory of Joe and Others

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 [more]

Found In: Funeral & Burial

Tags: tallit, tzitzit

Dirge Without Music

"I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground./ So it is, and so it will be..." [more]

Found In: Funeral & Burial

Memorywork

"In the rising of the sun and in its going down, we remember them." [more]

Found In: Funeral & Burial

Tags: unveiling, yizkor

Home

A poem describing the palpable absence of a dead mother [more]

Found In: Mourning & Bereavement

The Five Stages of Grief

A poem about the journey of grief [more]

Found In: Mourning & Bereavement

Memorial Service

Appropriate for burial, cremation, or marking periods of mourning [more]

Found In: Funeral & Burial

Tags: el maley rakhamim, kaddish, Psalm 23

A Prayer of Trust

A prayer to be said on carrying out the request of a dying parent to remove life support [more]

Found In: Preparing for Death