Chevra Kadisha News - Published by Kavod v'Nichum

 Shevat 5764 - February 2004 - 667 subscribers

 
Tell your Chevra Kadisha members, and your synagogue e-mail list, that RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, the U.S. Public Broadcasting System news magazine program produced by Channel Thirteen WNET New York, will provide a look at the Jewish burial rituals --  the "Tahara" -- in a special "Belief and Practice" feature to be included in this week's show. Many stations air this program on Sunday.
 
The five minute segment, "Jewish Burial Practices," will focus on the time-honored  ritual of preparing the deceased in accordance with Jewish tradition  -- the Tahara -- which includes the washing and ritual purification of the dead before burial, and the dressing in traditional shrouds.  Rochel Berman from Chevra Kadisha, the Jewish Burial Society in Boca Raton, Florida, explains the process of Tahara and why it is  considered one of the greatest deeds to be performed in Judaism.
Local listings and times can be found at their website at  www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/tv_default.html
 
The Jan 9, 2004 article in the Forward titled A Revived Interest in Death has been reprinted in the February 5, 2004 Israeli newspaper Haaretz re-titled U.S. Jewish Burial Societies See a Revived Interest in Death.
 
The kind of letter we love to receive....

Following up the conference last June, which two women from my congregation attended in addition to myself, we embarked upon a campaign to resuscitate our chevra kaddishah. It began by my reflecting upon the question: who will care for my body when I die? as the theme for my Yom Kippur Yizkor sermon. In it I announced that I would be calling a meeting for those interested.

 
I was astounded at the number of people, men and women who responded to the call. I prepared lots of printed material. Then we studied. And studied.
 
We have had a series of meetings which culminated last night, where the women, who were already ahead of the men in organization and the men said that they felt sufficiently prepared to do taharah. One person who had been on chevra kaddishah since 1979 kept saying "I can't believe it. I can't believe it." For years he had been trying to get people to join him to no avail.
 
Now we have a joint Chevra Kaddishah of nearly 30 people, fairly evenly split between men and women. We have produced two manuals, one for each chevra, for them to use during taharah.
 
The conference last June came a long just at the right moment in our history and had so much tremendously important and useful material, information and experiences. We all thank you. I wanted you know of the impact that it made here in Richmond, Virginia.

Shalom u''vracha,

Rabbi Gary S. Creditor
Temple Beth-El
Richmond, Virginia 23221
Save the date and plan to attend - The Second North American Chevre Kadishah Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada - June 6 - 8, 2004. Look for more information in the next few weeks.

Wrestling with the Angel, A Plain Pine Box, Tahara Manual of Practices and other books are available for purchase from Kavod v'Nichum. For orders over $100, shipping is free and you will receive a bottle of Monsel's solution and a Chevra Kadisha Conference t-shirt. Go to the web site at www.Jewish-funerals.org and click on the link to books and other products. 

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