Saying Kaddish: How to Comfort the Dying, Bury the Dead, and Mourn as a Jew

From a Jewish perspective, however, these practices run counter to the principle of kevod ha-met by turning the body into a thing that is manipulated for the benefit of others. In a tradition where memory is considered a primary obligation and blessing, most people prefer to remember

Judaism prohibits embalming, artificial arranging of limbs, and any use of cosmetics on a corpse on the grounds that these practices violate the dignity of the corpse,

“A dying person is to be considered a living person in all matters of the world.”1

Your love does not vanish when you leave the room.

embedded in Jewish hearts and souls, some find comfort in reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish, or some version of it, as a private meditation or prayer.

secular burial customs and adopting secular attitudes about bereavement—including the larger culture’s tendency to underestimate the power of grief and the impact of loss. Death itself has become something of a stranger.

“least expensive kosher casket available.”

“A baby enters the world with closed hands. A person leaves the world with open hands. The first says, ‘The world is mine.’ The second says, ‘I can take nothing with me.’”

Jews pray to heal relationships with loved ones and with God. We pray for wholeness —shleymut— a word that shares a root with shalom, peace.