Funeral & Burial

Jewish practices of funeral and burial are constructed around a few key ideas: Death is to be confronted, not denied. The dead body is to be accorded the utmost respect. Mourners are to be comforted. We are equal in the face of death. The burial and decay of a body is a natural process which should not be impeded or interrupted.

Latest Rituals

A poem to mark moments in a year of mourning.
hourglass and calendar
Prayer for transferring a deceased body for the process of “natural organic reduction,” also known as “human composting”
small tree shown far away in bright green field with blue sky and clouds
“We can envision this world and beyond as havens of peace”
landscape of pink-tinted mountains with person standing and sky above with one cloud on the right side
“You can’t bring them back, but you can learn their Torah”
You Can’t Bring Back the Dead

“I found a pair of dress shoes I had long forgotten / caked with mud / hidden away in the back of my closet”

Yahrzeit for My Father

Earth-based mourning ritual with poem and chant

With the Earth: A Mourning Ritual

“Hold our loved ones close to your heart”

A Contemporary El Maley Rakhamim

“May you know that you are always remembered for the good you have done”

For Those We Remember with Love: Seven Blessings of Memory and Hope

“Today I struggle, knowing I should do my part”

Tucking in Aunt Belle

The Reconstructionist Network

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