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Death & Mourning

While Judaism places great emphasis on our lives in this world, death is an inevitable end for all of us. Often Jews who have been distant from traditional Jewish practice for their whole lives seek the comfort of traditional Judaism in the face of death. For mourners, whose lives are often turned upside down by death, the traditional practices of mourning can provide structure and comfort. Here you will find resources that address each aspect of the process of navigating death and mourning—from the moment of death, to the burial of the body, the tearing of clothes, the weeklong practice of shiva, and the recitation of kaddish.

 

Latest Rituals

“To remember these words / not only / when we lie down in slumber”

folded white fabric in shadows

A modern vidui (confession) for serious illness or death

ElderlyHands-BW

“Whatever it takes / to feel each other’s life”

embrace_istock

“Your hands were marked like lines on a map”

wrinkled hands with wedding ring on one finger

Our neighborhood has lost dozens and dozens of community members and beloveds, to gun violence in just the last few years, and we are not alone

sad-woman_istock

In the midst of wailing…a pause for creating

sunrise over foggy mountains

“When I feel most broken / pulled apart / when every door unhinged / is opened / but feels closed”

abstract image of wire shapes filled with prismed bubbles

A poem for the end of a difficult time

woman dancing with string lights on a city street

The El Maley Rakhamim prayer reconstructed to honor the lives lost to racial violence

a person in shadow bent in grief

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

Join the Ritualwell community to explore rituals that will bring a sense of sacred awareness to your Thanksgiving table and into your everyday life!

Jewish practices provide us with valuable frameworks to foster awareness and joy through gratitude.

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The Reconstructionist Network