Forward by Sherwin B. Nuland As Jack Riemer demonstrates in this collection of Jewish resources for mourning and healing, the Jewish tradition has much to offer those who seek its help in time of need. Here are personal as well as practical writings by contemporary authors about the Shivah period, Kaddish, Yizkor, Yahrzeit, and less familiar practices to honor the dead and comfort the living. Some writers describe new rituals that were created to fill special needs. Others raise questions about the tradition: Do Jews believe in an afterlife? How do we mourn the stillborn child? Should we always strive to prolong life? Reflections on these and other issues related to death and dying make this an indispensable resource for coping with some of life's most difficult and sacred moments.

A Step-by-Step Guide for Honoring the Dead and Empowering the Living When someone dies, there are so many questions—from what to do in the moment of grief, to dealing with the practical details of the funeral, to spiritual concerns about the meaning of life and death. This indispensable guide to Jewish mourning and comfort provides traditional and modern insights into every aspect of loss. In a new, easy-to-use format, this classic resource is full of wise advice to help you cope with death and comfort others when they are bereaved. Dr. Ron Wolfson takes you step by step through the mourning process, including the specifics of funeral preparations, preparing the home and family to sit shiva, and visiting the grave. Special sections deal with helping young children grieve, mourning the death of an infant or child, and more. Wolfson captures the poignant stories of people in all stages of grieving—children, spouses, parents, rabbis, friends, non-Jews—and provides new strategies for reinvigorating and transforming the Jewish ways we mourn, grieve, remember, and carry on with our lives after the death of a loved one.

This is a very detailed guide to the traditional aspects of Jewish observances of Death and Mouring. It is a must for every Jew -- Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or un-affiliated!

From beloved New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist—the definitive guide to Judaism’s end-of-life rituals, revised and updated for Jews of all backgrounds and beliefs. From caring for the dying to honoring the dead, Anita Diamant explains the Jewish practices that make mourning a loved one an opportunity to experience the full range of emotions—grief, anger, fear, guilt, relief—and take comfort in the idea that the memory of the deceased is bound up in our lives and actions. In Saying Kaddish you will find suggestions for conducting a funeral and for observing the shiva week, the shloshim month, the year of Kaddish, the annual yahrzeit, and the Yizkor service. There are also chapters on coping with particular losses—such as the death of a child and suicide—and on children as mourners, mourning non-Jewish loved ones, and the bereavement that accompanies miscarriage. Diamant also offers advice on how to apply traditional views of the sacredness of life to hospice and palliative care. Reflecting the ways that ancient rituals and customs have been adapted in light of contemporary wisdom and needs, she includes updated sections on taharah (preparation of the body for burial) and on using ritual immersion in a mikveh to mark the stages of bereavement. And, celebrating a Judaism that has become inclusive and welcoming. Diamant highlights rituals, prayers, and customs that will be meaningful to Jews-by-choice, Jews of color, and LGBTQ Jews. Concluding chapters discuss Jewish perspectives on writing a will, creating healthcare directives, making final arrangements, and composing an ethical will.

The author of Living When a Loved One Has Died draws from Jewish wisdom and tradition to provide thoughtful advice on moving through loss with grace and hope Earl Grollman's Living When a Loved One Has Died has brought comfort to more than 250,000 readers. In Living with Loss, Healing with Hope, Grollman speaks directly to mourners of the Jewish faith. By weaving quotations from Jewish writers and philosophers into his comforting and expert prose, Grollman guides readers through the journey of mourning, healing, and hope. A colleague of Grollman's once told him, “Earl, I am not a member of your faith, but if I wanted the soundest emotional and spiritual approach to death, I would be a Jew.” Occasionally quoting from sacred texts as well as Jewish writers and philosophers, Living with Loss, Healing with Hope illuminates Judaism's powerful recognition of the trauma of grief and of the mourner's responsibility eventually to return to the rhythm of life. In a brief final section, the author guides readers through Jewish funeral observances, Shiva, and beyond, and reminds all that these symbolic customs are ‘about change-remembrance, letting go, and moving on.’ “Earl Grollman is still the master of consolation. Every word of this little book is a polished jewel.” —Harold S. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

The national bestseller From the author of the bestselling More Beautiful Than Before comes an inspiring book about loss based on his most popular sermon. As the senior rabbi of one of the largest synagogues in the world, Steve Leder has learned over and over again the many ways death teaches us how to live and love more deeply by showing us not only what is gone but also the beauty of what remains. This inspiring and comforting book takes us on a journey through the experience of loss that is fundamental to everyone. Yet even after having sat beside thousands of deathbeds, Steve Leder the rabbi was not fully prepared for the loss of his own father. It was only then that Steve Leder the son truly learned how loss makes life beautiful by giving it meaning and touching us with love that we had not felt before. Enriched by Rabbi Leder's irreverence, vulnerability, and wicked sense of humor, this heartfelt narrative is filled with laughter and tears, the wisdom of millennia and modernity, and, most of all, an unfolding of the profound and simple truth that in loss we gain more than we ever imagined.

Wisdom, solace and inspiration from Jewish tradition to bring you hope and healing after loss. ''Mourning can open doors you may not have imagined before your life was shaken by loss. This book provides keys to those doors and a way into the rooms beyond them. Whether you stand at grief's threshold or give counsel to someone who does, this book can offer guidance.... With words of wisdom, ranging from comforting to provocative, each author stands at the entrance to one of mourning's doors, extending a hand to offer the key you will need, inviting you into one of these deep conversations.'' Beloved and respected spiritual leaders from across the Jewish denominational spectrum share insights from their experience, Jewish tradition and their personal encounters with grief and healing. This wide range of perspectives, offered with grace and compassion, will be a treasured resource in your time of grief. Whether mourning a recent loss or experiencing pain from old scars, you will be encouraged and challenged to be fully, vulnerably present to your emotions; forgive your own shortcomings and those of others; and remain open to love despite pain and uncertainty.