Course 5 - Chevrah Kadisha: Ritual, Practices and Liturgy

"Body to the Grave"

The Cycle of Paintings of the Prague Burial Society (c. 1772)

Gamliel Institute's Course 5:

Chevrah Kadisha: Ritual, Practices, & Liturgy

REGISTER NOW!

12 sessions: Tuesdays, from January 9 to March 27, 8-9:30 pm EST (5-6:30 pm PST), with a preliminary technical session on Tuesday, January 2 (8pm EST; 5 pm PST)

Course Description: Our tradition has a broad and rich liturgy and practice around end-of-life issues. This course examines the liturgy and related practice in detail, focusing on funeral and burial practice, traditional sources, variations in practice, and the role of the rabbi.

Topics include: pre-death matters such as bikkur cholim (visiting the sick), ethical wills, and vidui (confession); practices from the moment of death through burial, including kri'ah, "overturning the bed," and burial itself; and those after burial, including shiva, mourning, and remembrance. The course will look at both halachah (Jewish law) and minhag (Jewish custom), and examine the key texts involved throughout all of these stages. (This course does not cover issues specific to taharah and shmirah, which are covered in Course 2.)

For more information, please contact Rabbi Stuart Kelman at s.kelman@jewish-funerals.org.
Register at www.jewish-funerals.org/gamreg.