Are you in an interfaith couple and have no clue about funeral traditions on the Jewish side of the family? Have you ever attended a Jewish funeral and wondered why things were done the way they were?
Gail Rubin displays Jewish burial garments in her talk.
At the funeral of my great-aunt Mary when I was in my early 20s, the Jewish funeral traditions I encountered confused me.
Even though I had a good Jewish education, grew up in a Conservative congregation, attended Sunday School and Hebrew School, was bat mitzvahed, confirmed and a life member of Hadassah, I had no idea what was going on. They just don’t teach funeral traditions in religious school.
But now I know a lot about Jewish funeral traditions and superstitions. I’m a member of the Chevrah Kaddisha, volunteers who wash and dress the bodies of Jews in the ritual manner for burial. I’m on the cemetery committee for Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I’m the Vice-President of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue of New Mexico, helping explain Jewish religious traditions to others.
For the past three years, I’ve presented on Jewish funeral traditions at the annual A Taste of Honey educational event held by the Greater Albuquerque Jewish Community Center. This year, I recorded my talk on Jewish Funeral Traditions and Superstitions and it is now available on DVD.
The DVD answers questions such as:
- Why are Jews supposed to bury their dead within 24 hours?
- Where did traditions like tearing clothing, lighting candles and eating round food after a funeral come from?
- How is Jewish burial naturally green burial?
- Why are there so many things a mourner isn’t supposed to do after a funeral during the seven days of shivah?
- What are the major differences between Christian and Jewish funerals?
- When can life return to “normal” after a funeral?
You can get all this information on one DVD for only $24.99 plus shipping. You also get helpful documents, including a list of 50 Things for Jews To Do When a Death Occurs — a checklist on decisions to make and key information to get pulled together, a written outline of Jewish funeral traditions discussed in this talk, and Jewish prayers and readings related to funerals.
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