Before the coronavirus pandemic, Deborah Drillman, 54, was one of 55 women volunteering with the Chevra Kadisha of Queens and Long Island, an organization that prepares deceased people for burial ...

When members of the year-old Reform Communal Chevra Kadisha of New York complete their work preparing a Jewish body for burial, they take a few minutes to stand together around the closed coffin.

A few years ago, long-time Encino resident Steven Poretzky was winding down his career as a financial consultant and then executive director at Shomrei Torah Synagogue in West Hills. While he wasn’t ...

As a literary device, the chevra kadisha, or burial society, has little precedent. The words mean, literally, holy society. The chevra kadisha is the group of people that performs, among other duties, ...

A few short years ago I was afraid of death. It’s not that I was afraid I was going to die any time soon; it’s just that I was afraid of anything having to do with death. I avoided people who’d had a ...

The COVID-19 crisis has caused long-held traditions to change, even those held deeply and faithfully across multiple generations. While other religious organizations have been able to transition ...

A painting being passed around Pittsburgh’s Jewish community is providing comfort to victims’ families and those involved with their burials a year after the Tree of Life shooting. The painter, Rabbi ...

The first time I touched a dead body was in a sanitized room inside a Dallas funeral home. I was stationed next to Ana’s toenails, with a small toothpick and a Q-tip. While firmly holding onto her ...

Discussions around the creation of the burial society helped spark growing interest among Reform Jews in Jewish ritual burial and other end-of-life issues. When members of the year-old Reform Communal ...