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The Guides:

Mazornet, Inc. is proud to present its newest guide to Judaism.


MazorGuide's "Death and Mourning - A Jewish Perspective" - compiled
by Rivka C. Berman. 


For those who mourn death, for those who help them, this guide


 An attempt is made to cover the major streams of Judaism in an effort deem this guide practical and its resources helpful to all Jews.

 

 

Ha-Makom yenachem etchem betoch sh’ar aveilei Tziyon V’Yerushalayim.


“May God comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”

 

Contact Us: DandM@Mazornet.com

 

 

 

 

When the void left by a loss is gaping and new, Jewish tradition is paved with guidance for mourners.  A final goodbye in Judaism is composed of two themes: ka-vode hamet - treating the deceased with dignity and nihum ah-vay-leem - comforting the mourners.   

 

The first motions of mourning are focused on getting ready for the burial.  At every turn Judaism fends for the honor of the deceased, based on the belief that the body was created in God’s image and once held a soul.

 

While Jewish funeral, burial and mourning rites are dignified, they are aimed at keeping expenses at a minimum in consideration of those who cannot afford a lavish sendoff.  Pageantry is shunned to promote healing and to prevent the survivors from turning to the dead as a holy intermediary deserving of worship. 

 

Survivors are helped through the mourning process via the wealth of mourning traditions. Personal mourning observances are restrictive at first, forcing a mourner to confront sadness and loss.  The laws and customs gradually evolve as time passes, lessening, to urge a mourner to create a renewed connection with life.

 

Community involvement plays a large role in nihum ah-vay-leem, comforting the bereaved. A community

surrounds the bereaved, visiting during the first seven-day period of mourning and answering amen to the Kaddish, mourning prayer.   Kindness and concern for a mourner, an ahvell, ranks high among the obligations of a Jew. 

 

The wealth of Jewish customs and laws steady a mourner through the emotional hurricane of loss.

 

Denominational Perspectives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiva & Condolence
Kosher Baskets

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Recommended Reading:

 


~ The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning
by Maurice Lamm (Paperback)


~ Consolation: The Spiritual Journey Beyond Grief
by Maurice Lamm
 

The Blessing of a Broken Heart by Sherri Mandell


~ Living a Year of Kaddish
by Ari L. Goldman


~ Saying Kaddish: How to Comfort the Dying, Bury the Dead, and Mourn As a Jew
by Anita Diamant (Paperback)


~
Goodbye, Mom: A Memoir of Prayer, Jewish Mourning, and Healing by Arnie Singer

 

~ Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope by Nina Beth Cardin


~ A Time to Mourn a Time to Comfort (Art of Jewish Living Series)
by Ron Dr. Wolfson, Joel Lurie Grishaver (Editor) (Paperback)


~ Grief in Our Seasons: A Mourner's Kaddish Companion
by Kerry M. Olitzky (Paperback)


~ The Jewish Mourner's Book of Why
by Alfred J. Kolatch (Paperback)


~ Mourning & Mitzvah: A Guided Journal for Walking the Mourner's Path Through Grief to Healing
by Anne Brener (Paperback)


~ Jewish Insights on Death and Mourning
by Jack Riemer (Editor) (Paperback)