Hayyei Sarah
This week’s parasha, Hayyei Sarah, opens with the death of our matriarch Sarah. In the first part of the story, Abraham personally attends to all the details of her burial and the preparations beforehand. Granted, at this point in the story the sum total of the Jewish community is Abraham, his son Isaac, and the servant Eliezer. Nevertheless, based on this story Jewish communities throughout time have understood we are responsible for tending to the burial needs of the people of our community.
In our own time that responsibility has been taken on by what's called a Chevre Kadisha, a "holy society:" group of volunteers who, each time we have a loss in our community prepare the deceased for burial according to the traditional Jewish rites. While this is not a particularly well know aspect of Jewish communal life, next week we have a unique opportunity to learn about the rituals of Jewish burial and in particular, the liturgy that the Chevre Kadisha uses in preparing for the deceased burial.
Rabbi Stuart Kelman, the Dean on the Gamliel Institute, will be speaking at a think tank devoted to educating Jews about Jewish traditions around the end of life will be with us at Anshe Emet Synagogue at 7:00 p.m. on Monday October 28 for a program entitled, “Tahara Liturgy: Unravelling the Secrets.” We hope that you’ll join us for what is sure to be a fascinating night of insights into the end of life from a Jewish perspective.
Rabbi Kelman’s presentation is sponsored by Anshe Emet’s Chevre Kadisha, the Progressive Chevre Kadisha, the West Suburban Chevre Kadisha, and the Chevre Kadisha of Congregation Hakafa, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to join with the wider community in considering the ways in which we too fulfill the ancient responsibilities that Abraham taught us in the way he cared for Sarah.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Abe Friedman
Rabbi Stuart Kelman, the Dean on the Gamliel Institute, will be speaking at a think tank devoted to educating Jews about Jewish traditions around the end of life will be with us at Anshe Emet Synagogue at 7:00 p.m. on Monday October 28 for a program entitled, “Tahara Liturgy: Unravelling the Secrets.” We hope that you’ll join us for what is sure to be a fascinating night of insights into the end of life from a Jewish perspective.
Rabbi Kelman’s presentation is sponsored by Anshe Emet’s Chevre Kadisha, the Progressive Chevre Kadisha, the West Suburban Chevre Kadisha, and the Chevre Kadisha of Congregation Hakafa, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to join with the wider community in considering the ways in which we too fulfill the ancient responsibilities that Abraham taught us in the way he cared for Sarah.
Shabbat Shalom,
