Anita Diamant

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

Today in Jewish History: May 14, 2004

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

The Kaddish originated as an expression of praise to God following a learned discourse.

During this Jewish mourning custom, the entire physical environment of the mourner is transformed to acknowledge the immediacy of death.

Shoveling dirt onto the coffin is the family's final ritual act of honoring the dead.

Contemporary couples are reinterpreting an old ceremony that set the financial and logistical arrangements for an upcoming marriage

At death, several gestures indicate respect for the deceased as well as acceptance of the reality of death.

Male converts to Judaism are traditionally required to undergo circumcision or, if already circumcised, a ritual removal of a single drop of blood.

Plan ahead to enhance the spirituality of the immersion experience; a mikveh or mikvah, a ritual bath, tends more toward the functional than the spiritual.