Dignity Beyond Death: The Jewish Preparation for Burial

This remarkable and sensitive book describing the author’s involvement in her chevra kadisha, and the beauty of Jewish burial practices is the ideal subject for review in an issue of JOFA Journal that is focused on tzedaka and chesed. The book, which was a finalist in the National Jewish Book Awards in 2005, and winner of the Koret International Jewish Book Award in the category of Jewish Life and Living in 2006, makes clear how caring for the dead is indeed the ultimate act of loving-kindness. Berman shares a wealth of material, much of it obtained through personal interviews, about the process and rituals involved in preparing the dead for burial and about the volunteers, men and women, who undertake this mitzvah. She explores why individuals choose to do this, how they are trained, how they deal with the many challenges involved and the effect on their families. For so many who participate, being a part of a chevra kadisha has enriched their lives and been a transformative experience. While she interviews and records the views of both men and women who have been involved in chevra kadisha activity, much of the book is drawn from her own experience, which has obviously been within women’s groups. Because of this, the book is marked by a particular richness of women’s experiences. Berman includes material on the unique circumstances presented by the Holocaust and its aftermath, as well as on the specific tasks of dealing in a dignified manner with the dead in the wake of terrorist attacks in Israel, and after the attack on the Twin Towers in New York. One of the reasons she wrote this book was to dispel the ignorance about the practice, as she considers that many Jews, including Orthodox ones, do not know what the ritual entails. She therefore provides a detailed guide to the tahara process, and information on how to start a chevra kadisha, and how to train members. She stresses the importance of increasing knowledge about the Jewish preparation for burial and of teaching children about death and dying, about kavod hamet, and the role of the tahara and the chevra kadisha in communal life. For her, “Becoming a member of the chevra kadisha became one of the pivotal identities that defines who I am. On a…. communal and spiritual level, I have come to consider work with the Chevra as the most profound expression of my Judaism”.