Kavod v’Nichum and Gamliel Institute News Feed

2020-2021 Gamliel Institute Catalog of Courses

The Institute is excited to share our 2020-2021 schedule of new events, called “Taste of Gamliel Short Courses,” along with our 12-week Gamliel Institute Core Curriculum Courses. See the online Catalog of Courses for details.

Upcoming Taste of Gamliel Short Courses

Our next short courses are as follows:

February 20th, 2020, Isaac Pollak
The Well-Dressed Jewish Corpse – The Etiology of Jewish Shrouds
Thursday, 8:00pm Eastern / 5:00pm Pacific (one session)
Course fee is $36 – Click here to register.

Why white shrouds? Why ideally linen? Why no pockets? Where do the knots come from? What is the historic, textual and archeological background for the shrouds used today? In this course we will study and examine some of the relevant data currently available to understand tachrichim used in today’s Chevrah Kadisha work.

March 1, 2020, Yakir Englander, PhD
Zayan Adar Day of Learning: The Jewish Memory of Death
Sunday, 12:00pm Eastern / 9:00am Pacific (three sessions)
Sessions are as follows:

12:00pm Eastern / 9:00am Pacific Akedath Itzhak and the Israeli National Poetry of Bereavement
2:30pm Eastern / 11:30am Pacific The Meaning of Kiddush Hashem during the Holocaust in Ultra-Orthodox Writing
5:00pm Eastern / 2:00pm Pacific The Death of Nature and Human Suffering

Course fee is $108 – Click here to register.

In this unique day of learning, we will focus on moments in Jewish history where death shifted from the private sphere to the public one. By reading materials and using theory around Memory vs History — we will explore how in times of crisis our leaders used literature to create a meaning narrative around it. Our first session will focus on how Israeli literature uses the biblical narrative of the Binding of Isaac in order to deal with the loss of soldiers during war and terror attacks. The second session will explore how the Ultra-Orthodox theology reacted to the horrible events of the Holocaust. The Holocaust challenged the traditional terms of Kiddush Hashem and the leaders of the community found a fascinated way how to include the events of the war under this category. In our third session we will explore the how the Jewish Midrash speaks about suffering and death of nature, and the responsibility of our Jewish leadership toward it.

March 11, 2020, Rick Light
History of Chevrah Kadisha
Wednesday, 8:00pm Eastern / 5:00pm Pacific (one session)
Course fee is $36 – Click here to register.

The historical development of the practices of the Chevrah Kadisha begins with Biblical sources and
continues through the Talmud and later Medieval period. It is here that we discover the values and principles which underlie the work of the Chevrah Kadisha and make it an essential Jewish institution. In the limited time of a single class we will explore the development of these values through our historical journey, culminating with the publication of the Ma’avar Yabok in 1626 with its influence on the modern time, to discover the foundations of the rituals and practices of the Chevrah Kadisha today.

Upcoming Core Curriculum Courses

The next Gamliel Institute Core Curriculum Course offerings are as follows, for more information click here, to register click here:

Course 7: Chevrah Kadisha: Student Projects March 5 through May 21, 2020

Course 2: Chevrah Kadisha: Taharah and Shmirah April 21 through July 14, 2020

The 2020 Chevrah Kadisha Conference – Registration is Open!

The 18th Annual Chevrah Kadisha and Jewish Cemetery Conference will be held June 7-10, 2020, at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh, PA. To find out more, click here.

Conference Registration is open, you can register today!

Online Videos Related to Jewish Death Practices

A list of BimBam animated videos related to Jewish death rituals and traditions now on YouTube
“Living Jewishly Means Dying Jewishly Too” ELI Talk by Michael Slater
“A Good End” Podcast from My Jewish Learning
Jewish Sacred Aging podcast interviews with David Zinner: March 17, 2017, August 1, 2014 (part II), July 21, 2014 (part I)