kaddish

When A Friend Dies

On extending Jewish mourning rituals to non-traditional mourners.

Becoming an Expert on Southern Jewish Cemeteries

A recent line of inquiry has led me down a research rabbit hole — a tunnel falling straight into the ...

Between the Holy and the Frustrating

It’s Friday afternoon in a quiet Maryland suburb. Cars pull into driveways and kids get off school buses, ready to ...

I’m Too Broken to Write This Blog

Rarely have I been so deeply affected, so deeply wounded inside, so utterly shattered.

Overcoming Obstacles to Recite Mourner’s Kaddish with Dignity

My father died on Rosh Hashanah 5764. He died at home, in a clean white bed, surrounded by his wife ...

Finding My Voice Through the Book of Ruth

I have always fancied myself as a feminist. When I was in primary school, I remember arguing with one of ...

Two Women Make a Quorum

As I wrote in The Torch last fall, I started attending the early morning minyan at my synagogue with the ...

Reciting Kaddish in Unconventional and Unorthodox Circumstances

There were a couple of times when I said Kaddish in some unconventional or “unorthodox” circumstances, but they were quite ...

Lessons I Learned From Reciting Kaddish for Mom

The recitation of Kaddish benefits both the soul of the departed loved one, as well as the mourner.

The Memorial

I recently attended my friend’s father’s memorial. It was held at the Faculty House of Columbia University in a perfectly ...