Jewish Beliefs in End of Life

Rabbi Daniel Korobkin

Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Congregation

Transcription:

Funeral homes have chapels where you can host a funeral service. And in addition to that, there are usually chapels in most cemeteries, and those are also available to someone to host a funeral service. You can do a graveside service also, depending on the weather. During COVID, the only option that was available to families was a graveside service because of the danger of congregating together. Starting from the time that we begin the funeral service, we usually recite some Psalms to create a spiritual, religious atmosphere. If it’s for, let’s say, a woman of a family who was married with children, we also recite from the Book of Proverbs chapter 31, which is known as the Eyshet Chayil, talks about a woman of valour. So we recite that as well. And then what we do are what’s called hespedim, which are eulogies. The most meaningful eulogies are given usually by, not the rabbi, but by the members of the family who knew the person well. And what we try to direct the family to recall are those qualities of the deceased that impacted them most and made them the people that they are. The ripping of the clothing is called kiriyah in Hebrew, and it is done for a number of reasons. When a person wishes to express grief, the Torah, the Bible, prohibits us from inflicting harm to ourselves. And so the next thing that we can do to express just a feeling of being broken is tearing our clothing. It’s an expression of, number one, I feel that all of the assets that I possess are of no value to me because of this loss. In the face of this loss, nothing else really matters. And in addition to that, it’s a public display of the fact that my life is out of sorts, discombobulated, and that even my clothing is an expression of my world having come apart. A mourner is supposed to wear the torn clothing for the entire seven days of Shiva, except for Shabbat. When you wear, out of honour for the Shabbat, you wear regular clothes. Once you get up from Shiva, you change back into your regular clothes. You put back on your leather shoes because during Shiva, we’re not permitted to wear leather shoes, which are considered to be more comfortable.

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What to do when a death occurs
Traditions when someone dies
The importance of burial
The importance of burying in a Jewish cemetery
What happens at a funeral
Where to host a service
Selecting a funeral home
Jewish Beliefs in End of Life
Supporting a mourner
Kavod HaMet & Tahara
Shiva
Saying Kadish
Yizkor
Lessons from COVID
How to select a monument
Visiting a cemetery
Why to pre-plan a service

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