Israel is the Holy Land for Christians, Jews and Muslims. At the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) convention and expo, Aley Shalechet (which means Autumn Leaves in Hebrew) offered Americans the opportunity to have at least part of their mortal remains buried or scattered in the Holy Land.
Aley Shalechet works with funeral homes to offer the service to families who perhaps wish to keep the majority of a loved one’s cremated remains in the United States, but really like the idea of having some of the ashes buried or scattered in Israel. Aley Shalechet will handle all the paperwork, video record the scattering or placement, and give the family a personal memorial website.
The company can scatter ashes in places of historic or religious significance. Those locations include Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem, Masada, the Dead Sea, and other places.
At the NFDA expo, Aley Shalechet gave away full color coffee table books with photos and drawings of the Holy Land and descriptions of their services. When a family is at a funeral home making arrangements, they might pick up the book and leaf through it, then become inspired to send some cremated remains to Israel.
In this video below, Alon Nativ with Aley Shalechet describes the company’s services in more detail. Nativ opened the first crematorium in Israel and runs a funeral home and cemetery in conjunction with Aley Shalechet. Learn more at www.AleyShalechet.com.
Recorded at the 2014 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) Convention and Expo in Nashville, Tennessee by Gail Rubin, CT, The Doyenne of Death®, host and author of the award-winning TV show and book, A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die.