Tahara Manuals
| Title | Author | Chevra Kadisha | Date Published | Notes |
| Tahara Guide | Kehilath
Jeshurun New York, NY |
|||
| Taharah Manual | Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips |
Park Slope
Jewish Center Hevra Kadisha Brooklyn, NY |
September 2009 - 2nd Edition revises the December 2005 first edition |
Elegant layout; includes
diagrams for knot tying; suggested niggunim to accompany each part
of the process; de-briefing; end-notes. From Rabbi Regina:
This week's Torah portion
of Hayyei Sarah ("The Life of Sarah") has
traditionally served to focus attention on the importance of
burying the dead and consoling the bereaved. As we read of how
the widowed patriarch Abraham struggled with complicated
financial negotiations and other last-minute arrangements for
his wife Sarah's funeral, we can learn how to meet the
contemporary challenges of preparing for what we still would
rather not think about in advance.
A recent New York Times
opinion piece underscores the spiritual significance of these
issues across cultures:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/opinion/01long.html?_r=1
With all this in
mind, I am pleased to announce the online publication of our
sacred burial fellowship Taharah Manual in its second
(September 2009) edition.
Taharah
("Purification") refers both to the entire Jewish process of
caring for the dead and to the central ritual of that
process. Our Manual was compiled on the basis of a
comparative study of 10 contemporary taharah guides
from throughout the
In the four years
since our Manual was first published online, it has helped
to guide sacred burial fellowship development in communities
from New Jersey to
As Thomas G. Long concludes in the recent New York Times
article, "People who have learned how to care tenderly
for the bodies of the dead are almost surely people who also
know how to show mercy to the bodies of the living."
Those who would like to organize an interactive study
program on the basis of our Manual in their home
communities may contact me at the e-mail address below.
Rabbi Regina L. Sandler-Phillips, MSW, MPH |
|
Guidelines for
Performing Tahara (this document is two sided)
|
Rick Light | Chevra Kadisha of
Northern New Mexico
Los Alamos, NM |
May 2005 | For an additional file containing a copy of the title page click here. This is to enable printing for use during the Tahara. Print the title page on card stock, laminate it, and then spiral bind the document. |
| Guide to Taharah Practices - Men | Ohr Kodesh
Funeral Practices Committee
Chevy Chase, MD |
5763
5764 |