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Category: Mourning and Grief
Why We Study Mishnah To Grieve Someone Who Has Died
There is a custom of learning and reciting chapters of Mishnah as part of the mourning process. Where does this come from? How does this ...
Rabbi Jeremy Markiz
September 3, 2024
Death and Dying
Learning
List of Mishnah Chapters by First Letter
One mourning practice is to use the first letters of chapters of Mishnah to spell out the name of the deceased. Here is a list ...
Exploring Judaism
September 3, 2024
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
Mourning a Miscarriage
While there are no specific rituals for mourning a miscarriage, there are practices and rituals to use in that time that can help healing.
Rabbi Miriam C. Berkowitz
June 19, 2024
Children
Death and Dying
How Mourning Changes You
Pulling on a conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper about mourning, learn about how mourning can change you.
David Harrison
February 19, 2024
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
Remembering Our Loved Ones Before Us
When our loved ones die, who remembers those they remembered? Here's a way to remember all of those that came before us.
Rabbi Miriam T. Spitzer
September 21, 2023
Death and Dying
Family
Mourning: A Rabbi’s Own Perspective
A rabbi, familiar with leading others through the process of mourning, goes through the same. Rabbi David Baum remembers his mother.
Rabbi David Baum
August 25, 2023
Death and Dying
Holidays
Mourning Practices for the Loss of a Parent
The period of mourning for one’s parents is a full twelve months, and serves a deeply therapeutic function for the mourner.
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
May 8, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
Yahrzeit: The Jewish Anniversary of Someone’s Death
Yahrzeit should be a day given over to remembering and honoring an individual for whom one once sat shivah and is learning to live without.
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
May 8, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
What is Yizkor?
Yizkor consists of a collection of readings and recitations revolving around two central prayers: Yizkor prayers, and the El Malei Rachamim.
Rabbi Alan Lucas
,
The Observant Life (Book)
May 4, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
Tombstone Customs in Judaism
Tombstone customs in Judaism stem from the religious obligation to mark a grave. This is traditionally done with tombstones or stone markers.
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
February 28, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
Aninut: What Should Mourners Do Until Burial
The period from the time of death until burial is known as aninut - the customs of the mourners during the initial stages of bereavement. ...
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
February 26, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
How to Comfort Mourners During Shivah
What do I do when I go to a shivah? Remember that conversation should be about the deceased, not the mourners or the visitors.
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
February 26, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
What is Sheloshim?
Shloshim are the thirty days that follows the week of shivah and is considered a period of reduced mourning.
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
February 26, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
What is Shivah?
The word shivah refers to the seven days of mourning that follow the burial of a parent, child, sibling, or spouse.
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
February 26, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles