CK News - Published by Kavod v'Nichum
Both the (Florida) Sun Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post carried articles reporting on the Palm Beach Board of Rabbis' decision to become actively involved in resolving the Menorah Gardens Cemeteries problem. The two SCI cemeteries, one in West Palm Beach and one in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are being sued in a class action suit and by the Florida Attorney General's office. They are accused of digging up graves, disposing of bodies in the woods, and other actions that have outraged the Jewish community.
David Zinner, Executive Director of Kavod v'Nichum, made a presentation to the Board of Rabbis on April 10 2002. After reviewing the situation, and agreeing that it was critical to become actively involved, the rabbis brainstormed strategies and directions. Kavod v'Nichum has been engaged by the Rabbis to be their consultant in this area.
The Connecticut Attorney General filed a suit in February 2002 against Weinstein Mortuary for deceiving customers about burial procedures and overcharging them for services, including embalming bodies without authorization, failing to perform Tahara properly, directing employees to place a shroud over the body, and using a metal casket for an Orthodox funeral.
In Lancaster California the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department settled a complaint against a funeral home that refused to provide funeral services to persons who died from AIDS-related complications. The owner of the funeral home refused to provide such services because of his fear of contracting HIV. After being contacted by the Department, the owner agreed to provide the services and to undergo training concerning universal precautions to prevent the transmission of HIV.
Does your Chevra Kadisha have an annual dinner on the 7th of Adar? 5763 is a leap year, so there is a first and second month of Adar. Kavod v'Nichum's Chevra Kadisha conference is tentatively scheduled to include the 7th day of the first Adar, from February 9-11, 2003 in Washington, DC. We encourage all Chevra Kadisha groups to schedule local dinners on the 7th of the second Adar. Look for more news about the conference in the next issue of CK News.
Over 100 chaverim, including about 15 from non-Orthodox synagogues, attended a four-hour workshop on Sunday, April 14, 2002 to study in-depth the topic of taharah (ritual washing). The workshop was sponsored by the [Orthodox] Washington DC area Chevra Kadisha. The speaker was Rabbi Elchonon Zohn, the spiritual leader of Congregation Sons of Israel in Queens, NY and Director and Founder of the Chevra Kadisha of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens. Rabbi Zohn is internationally recognized as one of the foremost experts in Chevra Kadisha work, including Jewish customs, and halacha surrounding death and burial practices.
Our Chevra Kadisha of the month is the Rogue Valley Chevra Kadisha. Located in Ashland, Oregon, the Chevra's 80-90 members service a community that includes a Reform and a Renewal synagogue with about 500 member families between them.
Paul Firnstein, coordinator, is also the owner of arkwoodcaskets. There are five team coordinators who take turns lining up volunteers and working with the family and funeral home. In addition to securing local caskets, the chevra purchases tachrichim locally.
In February 2002 Temple Beth El of Boca Raton dedicated Phase II of the Reform Synagogue's Mausoleum. "To my knowledge," Rabbi Merle Singer said, "the mausoleum is the nation’s first of its kind on Temple grounds. Since Abraham purchased the Cave of Machpelah as a burial place for Sarah, it has been a sacred tradition for Jews to be laid to rest on hallowed ground.” Work on the first phase of the mausoleum began in 1995. Prices range from $4,700 to $12,000.
Details are now available on Magnified and Sanctified: Jewish Perspectives on Care at the End of Life to be held at Duke University on Thursday, May 23, 2002 from 8:30 - 4. Registration is $45 and includes a Kosher lunch. Speakers include Samuel Heilman, Laurie Zoloth, Debbie Friedman, Carrie Olitzky, James Tulsky, Peter Ochs, and Jack Riemer.
Senator Christopher Dodd from Connecticut, chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Family and Children, will hold hearings on April 24,2002 at 10am on the need for a federal role in regulating funeral homes and cemeteries. Topics covered may include pre-need contract portability, expanding the funeral rule to cover cemeteries, and a potential GAO investigation into funeral industry abuses.
The Subcommittee is looking for people to testify. They are interested in situations where the system failed an individual, where regulations didn't work, where explanations weren't clear or were misleading. Communicate to Bob_Zarnetske@dodd.senate.gov.
Before the FTC report in 1975 detailing abuses in the funeral industry, around the same time as Jessica Mitford published The American Way of Death in 1963, Rabbi Samuel H. Dresner wrote the Jew in American Life. The second chapter is a scathing attack on the Jewish funeral industry. Read the chapter on our web site.
Need ideas for a Jewish study vacation this summer? Consider the 27th Annual Conference On Alternatives In Jewish Education August 4-8, 2001, At Trinity University In San Antonio, TX. Look for workshops on organizing & developing a Chevra Kadisha.
Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) biennial gathering will be on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque on Friday and Saturday, May 31 & June 1, 2002. FCA is A Federation of Nonprofit Consumer Information Societies dedicated to a consumer's right to choose a meaningful, dignified, affordable funeral.
The 22nd International Conference on Jewish Genealogy will be in Toronto, Canada from August 4-9, 2002. The National Havurah Committee Summer Institute will be at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, NH from August 5-11, 2002.
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