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Funeral & Burial

Weathered tombstone with small stones on top, displaying moss growth and a blurred green background.

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

The Reconstructionist version of the Mourner’s Kaddish.
A hand holding a siddur opened to the Kaddish
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”
a black and white photo

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

Brown leather dress shoes on a wooden floor.

Earth-based mourning ritual with poem and chant

Hands holding a pile of soil, with a blurred background.

“Hold our loved ones close to your heart”

Sunlight filtering through grass, creating a warm, golden glow with bokeh effects in the background.

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

Sunset over a misty landscape with trees and a grassy hill, under a partly cloudy sky.

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

A person stands under an umbrella in a cemetery, looking at a grave on a cloudy day.

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

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The Reconstructionist Network