Mourn

Sometimes the chaplain is the only one who can mourn.

Jewish text offers glimpses into the time of the Messiah.

What's the appropriate post-mortem care for a Jewish person?

Yizkor is part of an ongoing conversation with the dead, but what we don't realize is that we constantly converse with the dead in daily life.

A story illustrates the power of reciting Kaddish for a parent.

The essence of Kaddish may be less in the meaning of the words than in the experience of reciting it with other Jews.

After burial Jewish law requires the mourner to turn from despair in the face of death to the affirmation of life.

Prompt burial of the deceased helps to preserve the dignity of the human being, who is made in the image of God, even in death.

Simple white shrouds democratize death and protect the poor from embarrassment.

During aninut, the phase between death and burial, the despairing mourner is freed of ritual obligations.

The specific prohibitions on mourners during the shiva period reflect the mourner's sense of estrangement from the life force.

Mourning customs reflect the depersonalization and distance from God experienced by the mourner who has just confronted the death of a close relative.