Chevra Kadisha News - Published by Kavod v'Nichum

Elul 5763 - September 2003 - 650 subscribers

David Zinner and Lynn Greenhough are planning the first Chevra Kadisha Study Tour, a three week trip to New York City, Prague and Israel that combines historical learning, text study, hands on in-depth Tahara training, and extensive networking. The Study Tour is sponsored by Kavod v'Nichum's Gamliel Institute, a program that provides ongoing education and training for Chevra Kadisha leaders, volunteers and other professionals in the funeral and cemetery industry. 

Week 1: We begin our Gamliel Institute trip with two days of study and touring in New York City.  We will focus on the immigrant Chevra Kadisha experience, especially the hundreds of landsmanshaftn societies that established cemeteries and Chevra Kadisha groups. We will study with scholars, visit museums, and see private collections of Chevra Kadisha documents and artifacts. 

We then travel to the city of Prague, home of the first Chevra Kadisha for which we have detailed records. Our scholars in residence will guide us as we study Spanish and Italian Chevra Kadisha groups and their formative influence on Prague; explore the development and organization of the Prague Chevra Kadisha; and examine the Prague influence on hundreds of Chevra Kadisha groups that formed across Europe through the next four centuries. We will visit the Prague cemetery and the Jewish Museum with the historic Chevra Kadisha murals.

Week 2: Our second week begins in Israel. Each tour participant will work with a ZAKA team and participate in providing taharot in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. This intensive training will be the equivalent of a Tahara Ulpan. Evenings will be devoted to study of the text of the tefillot recited during taharah, and to discussions of the emotional impact of our work. 

Week 3: We travel to Sefat, where we will study the kabbalistic influences on the Chevra Kadisha and to Beit Shearim, where we will explore and learn the origins and customs of the early Rabbinic period.  Participants will study Talmud and Mishnah with scholars who will guide us through the halachah of burial and cemetery customs.  We will also explore selected archeological ruins.

We are looking for expressions of serious interest. To hold a place for this trip, please submit a $1,000, fully refundable deposit (made out to Kavod v'Nichum) by Hanukah 5764 -  December 20, 2003. Send your deposit to Kavod v'Nichum, 8112 Sea Water Path, Columbia, MD  21045 or you can pay you deposit on-line through our web site by going to www.Jewish-funerals.org/donate.htm.  

If you are interested in coming with us on our next adventure but not yet ready to jump in with both feet, drop us a note. Please e-mail Lynn at lgreenhough@shaw.ca with additional questions. 

New York City in November 2003: The 16th Annual Bikur Cholim Conference, Transforming Ourselves & Our Communities through Bikur Cholim  and the National Center for Jewish Healing's Conference, Seasons for Healing: Drawing Spiritual Resources from the Jewish Holidays are being offer back to back, Sunday, Nov. 9th and Monday, Nov. 10th, 2003 in order to enhance the value for those traveling in from out of town.

The two days are designed to help build skills, deepen learning and strengthen programs that seek to address the needs of those living with illness, loss and other challenges. The keynote by Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, of CLAL on Transforming Ourselves & Our Communities through Bikur Cholim and the keynote by  Rabbi Amy Eilberg, one of the founders of the Jewish Healing Movement, on the Cycle of Jewish Time and Healing will frame each day.  Both conferences will offer a broad range of morning and afternoon workshops that offer introductory and advanced learning and skills building. Join with others who share a vision of drawing deeply from the Jewish tradition to address some of life's greatest challenges and transitions and to help transform our Jewish communal organizations to be better able to respond in a meaningful and timely fashion.

San Francisco in December of 2003: Models of Cooperation - Reflections of the Jewish Healing Movement celebrates the 13th anniversary of the Jewish Healing Movement and honors its founders. December 14-16, 2003. 

The September 2003 issue of Sh'ma offers new voices and insights on the ancient traditions surrounding burial. A number of articles were written by Chevra Kadisha Conference presenters including Lynn Greenhough on Tahara, Alison Jordan on Viddui, Anne Brener on Kaddish, Rabbi Neil Gillman on Ethics, Rabbi Mel Glazer on In-sight, and David Zinner on Communal Obligations to the Mourner. 

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. 

Rabbi Jack Riemer will speak to the Chevra Kadisha Society of Temple Emanu-El of Greater Atlanta on October 26, 2003. Contact Reba Herzfeld. 

The Maavar Yabok on-line study class began on September 1 with 50 participants. You can join this discussion  by sending an e-mail to MaavorYabok@topica.com. The class materials can be viewed at www.Jewish-funerals.org/MYClass/MYoutline.htm    

Same Burial, Without the Markup - New York Times By STEPHANIE STROM - August 7, 2003 - In some people's minds, there is not much difference between funeral home directors and used-car salesmen.

Six Feet Under - Service Corp. International made a pile selling "pre-need" funerals and caskets. Competition, debt and the growing trend of cremation nearly buried the company. Now, how to dig itself out? Forbes - July 7, 2003

Cemetery Suit Can Be Expanded, Judge Rules - By Eliot Kleinberg, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer - Wednesday, August 20, 2003 - In a powerful blow against the world's largest cemetery chain, a judge on Tuesday ruled families have proven virtually all their claims that Menorah Gardens mismanaged plots and misplaced and desecrated graves. Read the full ruling.

Class-action Suit in Burial Case OK'd - By Noah Bierman  Wed, Aug. 20, 2003 - A judge cleared the way Tuesday for tens of thousands of people to collect money from a national funeral home company accused of desecrating graves at Jewish cemeteries in South Florida.

Greening Your Final Arrangements - Have a funeral that reflects your values, and reduce expenses and planning headaches for your loved ones.

Are you a Holocaust Survivor, or a Child, Grandchild, or Spouse of Survivors? The roles and meanings that membership in the Chevra Kaddisha has in our lives are varied. Yet, as informal research has shown, there are common meanings and impacts that are shared by many of us. I am Juliet I. Spitzer. As a child and grandchild of survivors of the Shoah, I am interested in getting input from other children/grandchildren or spouses of survivors, or from survivors/child-survivors themselves, for a short presentation that I am planning to give at a conference in Israel in November.

If you fall into this category, I would so appreciate you taking a few moments to answer these questions 

Would you consider your membership/involvement in the Chevra Kaddisha to be related to your personal connection with the Holocaust? If so, how is your involvement in the Chevra Kaddisha informed by your personal legacy of the Shoah? (Feel free to be long-winded and write in a stream-of-consciousness manner!)  

I will be happy to share my findings- or the talk itself- when the presentation is completed.  Thank you, in advance, for helping me, and hopefully others, broaden our understanding of the far-reaching legacy of the Shoah. Please send responses to jispitz@comcast.net

Do you enjoy reading Chevra Kadisha News? Is it helpful and useful? We hope so and also hope you'll contribute to support our work.  We need your financial contribution to continue to provide you services. Donations of any size are welcome. Make your check out to Kavod v'Nichum and send it to 8112 Sea Water Path, Columbia, MD  20145 or call David Zinner at 410-799-8070 or e-mail to donate@jewish-funerals.org for more information. On-line credit card donations are also gladly accepted.