Death & Mourning

Home » Lifecycles » Death & Mourning » Page 23

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

“I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground./ So it is, and so it will be…”
“In the rising of the sun and in its going down, we remember them.”
A poem describing the palpable absence of a dead mother
A poem about the journey of grief

Appropriate for burial, cremation, or marking periods of mourning

A prayer to be said on carrying out the request of a dying parent to remove life support
A creative vidui to be recited at the bedside of a person near death
Blessing a dying person with a safe departure and a welcoming presence in the world to come
A ritual of gratitude for the life of a person who is dying

Poem by modern Israeli poet Zelda

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

Get the latest from Ritualwell

Subscribe for the latest rituals, online learning opportunities, and unique Judaica finds from our store.

The Reconstructionist Network