Rochel Berman, Dignity Beyond Death
The Final Act of Loving Kindness
…by Rochel U. Berman
The three short obituaries in the newspaper spoke about a loving, adoring child who would be missed by her family, her friends and her community. As I read the notices, my heart went out to the family that mourned her. Although I did not know this child in life, I was to encounter her in death.
As a member of my synagogue’s Chevra Kadisha (burial society), I received a phone call at my office early in the day asking me if I was available that evening for a tahara, the ritual purification of a body prior to burial. The person calling was somewhat hesitant. This was an unusual case. The deceased was a nine-year-old girl, a victim of a fatal car accident.
Our Chevra Kadisha is comprised mostly of parents of young children. As the mother of two adult sons, I felt that the emotional trauma of laying this child to rest would be less intense for me than for the others. So, I immediately said, “yes,” deferring the weekly laundry and a trip to the supermarket to another night.
DIGNITY BEYOND DEATH: THE JEWISH PREPARATION FOR BURIAL by Rochel U. Berman will be published in March 2005 by Urim Publications.