2012 Chevra Kadisha and Jewish Cemetery Conference - Tahara Track Workshops

A Sampling of the Workshops:

Tahara Demonstration - Using a live model, we demonstrate the washing, pouring, dressing, and casketing of a tahara, along with the tefila. What are the variations found in different communities?

Tahara as an Environmental Practice - Key excerpts from sacred texts, for example, the creation of the adam and the death of Moses, focus on how Judaism links the creation the end of life to the natural world. What is the literal and symbolic nature of each of the elemental substances used for tahara -water, wood, fibers, clay shard, and soil? How does tahara eschews chemical products and embraces natural substances in the preparing of the met to return to the earth with dignity?

Dancing the Choreography of Tahara - A structured group improvisation from participants' own hands-on experiences, from their knowledge, and from the tahara liturgy. Will movement help us connect to and process the powerful emotional around the tahara experience?

Unpacking the Tahara Liturgy - These words are often recited perfunctorily, if at all; sometimes in English, usually mumbled in Hebrew. We will "unpack the prayers", by understanding how they work and how they function to respond to their usage in the taharah room itself.

Chanting During the Tahara - An exploration of the positive benefits with practical instruction.

When Others Get to the Body First - Donations of Organ and Tissue and Autopsy. Expecting the unexpected when you walk into the Tahara room. Will you get advance warning? Who would you call with a question? What are your options? A detailed report on tissue donations, especially when the met/a is a skin donor.

Infection Control - Understanding Standard Precautions. What you need to know about contagion and disease in dead bodies. What is the risk? How is it minimized?

Muslim Tahara - What are the similarities and differences? Can Jewish and Muslim tahara teams share information and resoutces?

Tahara and Transgender Issues - Sex, gender, modesty, and privacy.