Shiva
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Life When Yom Kippur Prayers Don’t Help Grieving
Rosh Hashanah prayers, as depicted in the 18th century // Copyright Wikimedia Commons My father was buried on the eve of Rosh Hashanah 2002 and the holiday began just a few surreal hours after I stood at his open grave. The shiva — the seven-day period of formal mourning — was cancelled to usher in…
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Opinion Jewish Emphasis on Life Makes Death Rituals a Gift to World
It’s sometimes said that religion originated out of the fear of death. We all face the abyss, and we all grieve when our loved ones pass away. From this utter meaninglessness, the theory goes, myths of meaning arise. A review of Biblical literature, however, calls this theory into question. Unlike many indigenous and shamanic traditions,…
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Opinion Watching Porn While Sitting Shiva
Digital Spy It was my first shiva call, and it shocked me out of my wits. Sarah, one of the residents in the Jewish retirement community where I’d been conducting seminars on world news, had passed away. A cheerful lady in her 90s, she had always brought an international aspect to our weekly discussions. I…
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News Shiva Shifts Toward Shorter and Livelier Jewish Mourning for Dead
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. As many an American rabbi will tell you, even Jews who rarely go to Sabbath or holiday services will often contact a local synagogue after losing a loved one, requesting help to arrange the shiva, the week-long mourning period, so that he or she can say kaddish,…
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Opinion Wrestling With Details of Noah Pozner’s Killing
This post originally appeared on the web site of the Dart Society, an independent association of journalists who cover violence and tragedy. Nine days after Veronique Pozner’s son, Noah, was killed in the Newtown schools shootings, I interviewed her and other members of the family about their grieving process. The family had just finished observing…
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News Noah Pozner’s Family Remembers and Mourns
Six days after the funeral of six-year-old Noah Pozner, his family is taking stock of the gifts sent to them by strangers all over the world. There’s a stiff teddy bear in a brown overcoat and hat accompanied by a note from a woman who says the bear gave her great comfort when her mother…
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Culture The Mourning Kittel: When Grief Consumes All
In Genesis, when Jacob sees Joseph’s coat covered in blood, and thinks that his precious son is dead, he tears his clothes and begins to mourn. The act of tearing, keriah, is encoded in Jewish law as part of the ritual of mourning —whether expressing personal grief for a loved one or a national grief…
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The Schmooze Ringling Heiress Sues Brother After Assault at Shiva
When it comes to the Jewish family behind Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, the real circus is taking place outside the big top. In a lawsuit that involves a rabbi, secret gay lovers and an alleged assault at a shiva, Ringling heiress Karen Feld is suing her brother, Kenneth, for $110 million, claiming she…
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