When Rabbi Ted Falcon dies, plant a fig tree over his remains. Sorry, with his remains: Falcon wants his body to be composted. “I’m just trying to apply the principle of returning dust to dust,” he said. “How do you do that in the most productive way?” In May, Washington became the first state to…
Hundreds gathered at the University of South Carolina on Sunday to remember the life of student Samantha Josephson, who was found dead over the weekend after getting into a car she mistook for her Uber, The State reported. Josephson, 21, was last seen early Friday night after getting into a black Chevrolet Impala. Police believe…
Exploring what the Shiva customs in Judaism are
It’s no one’s favorite topic, but facing death is inevitable. While hundreds of books and articles have been written to help families deal with the emotional repercussions of a loss, many fewer resources exist to advise them on how to deal with the logistics. In our complex society, most people have assets and accounts strewn…
The only couple to die in the Pittsburgh synagogue bloodbath were laid to rest Thursday. Late on an overcast Thursday morning, mourners trickled into the Ralph Schugar Chapel for the funeral of Sylvan Simon, 86, and his wife, Bernice, 84, who had been married for nearly 62 years. He was a retired accountant, she a…
Most people stay far away from talking about mortality. Others, like the 88-years-young Shatzi Weisberger, the proud host of what she calls “FUN-eral parties,” are preparing for the end of their lives with gusto. Weisberger is just one of many members of a movement for enthusiastically accepting death. The Death Acceptance Movement, surprisingly, does not…
(JTA) — A coroner’s office in London has come under fire after multiple families have complained about delayed Jewish burials. The London-based Jewish Chronicle reported Thursday that one woman made 210 phone calls to the St. Pancras coroner’s office in central London before being assured that her father would be buried four days after his death. According…
Fifty years ago I became a military widow when my husband of three years was killed in the Six Day War. I was pregnant with our first child. I was a young wife, 23 years old. I saw my husband before his death. Burnt beyond recognition, he was desperately gasping for air. I looked for…
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