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[Ed. note: This is a reprint of a blog posting by one of our frequent contributors.— JB] Working for hospice is like following the progression of about forty different plays at once. What unexpected or surprising thing will one of my forty or so patients casually drop in her conversation with me today? What new realization will I come away with? What will I learn this week about the country the patient is from or what new Spanish expression will …
[Adapted from a Forum Post on Tahor and Tameh for Gamliel Course 2, 2019] Running through all of the readings this week seems to be an engagement (or non-engagement) with the ambiguous and the liminal. If I were going to make a sweeping generalization (and of course I am), I would say that Judaism is a religion obsessed with boundary-crossing, at times embracing it and at times abhorring it. And at the center of all of this is the boundary …
Building a New Road Out of Stumbling Blocks: A Difficult Taharah “Back Story” By Merle Karasch Gross
[Ed. Note: WARNING – This is not for the faint of heart or the squeamish. This entry in our blog details some of the aspects of what may occur in what we refer to as a “Difficult Taharah”. Told from the perspective of one event at one Chevrah Kadisha, this speaks to the guiding principle of those who are members of the Chevrah Kadisha that ‘we do the best we can’ in the circumstances. Not infrequently, death is not pristine, …
[Ed. Note: This is an examination of the rules set forth for members of the Bikur Cholim (caring for the ill) society of Frankfort am Main in 1740. Historically, the work of the Chevrah Kadisha could, and did, overlap with the work of those who cared for the sick. Today the two functions are often separated, but that was not always the case as seen here, and in the earlier published work, Ma’avor Yabbok (1626). — JB] I recently examined …
Burial decisions can be difficult, and sometimes they are even more complicated than usual. One contemporary category of complication involves situations of widow(er)s and remarriage. Here’s a basic scenario: A is married to B, and B dies. A remarries C, and then C dies (and is not buried next to B). When A dies, should A be buried next to B or to C? This precise situation arose in my wife’s family, where her father had been married and widowed …
The Tattoo Myth One of the most prevalent myths about Jewish death pertains to tattoos: should you have them, you can’t have a Jewish funeral or be buried in a Jewish cemetery. This is simply not true. Indeed, this is the single most frequent tweet I make as a response for Kavod v’Nichum. Ironically, I’m Modern Orthodox, covered in tattoos, and a member of a Frum (observant) Chevrah Kadisha Taharah (ritual purification) team. Inspired by the popular movie, Eastern Promises, …
A Kosher Casket? Kosher means fit or proper for ritual use, but unlike the biblical delineation of which foods are kosher, there are no biblical rules to give guidance regarding manufacture of kosher caskets. The Talmud contains dozens of occurrences of Hebrew words that are translated to English as “casket”, “coffin”, “bier”, “chest” and more. But nowhere in Jewish writings is there a discussion of what makes a casket kosher. Tachrichim (shroud or burial garment) manufacturers have suggested that there …
People say to me, “I don’t understand how you do your job,” or, “What’s it like to be surrounded by death all the time? Isn’t it depressing?” It’s not depressing, but it can be sad. Those of us behind the scenes, the Shomrim who sit vigil with our loved ones, the members of the Chevrah Kadisha who reverently wash, purify and dress our loved ones..we feel the sadness. We notice when families have one loss after another. We see the …