Skip to content
Holidays
Candle Lighting Times
Shabbat
High Holiday Reader 5785: Not A Mahzor
High Holidays
Sukkot
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
More Holidays >>
Every Day
Blessings
Daily Living
Home
Kashrut
Prayer
Ritual and Prayer Items
Spirituality
Tzedakah
Living
Climate and Environment
Health
Jewish Identity and Pride
LGBTQ+
Lifecycles
Social Justice
Travel
Learning
Tanakh
Torah (The Five Books)
Neviim (Prophets)
Tanakh Yomi
Conservative Judaism
Halakhah
Inclusion
Mitzvot
Community
Make Connections
EJ Writers Fellowship
Ask a Rabbi
About
About Us
Our Team
Authors
Pitch a Piece
Feedback
Exploring Judaism Blog
Search
Donate
Search
Search
Close this search box.
Tag: Mourning
Why We Study Mishnah To Grieve Someone Who Has Died
There is a custom of learning and reciting chapters of Mishnah as part of the mourning process. Where does this come from? How does this ...
Rabbi Jeremy Markiz
,
Exploring Judaism
September 3, 2024
Death and Dying
Learning
List of Mishnah Chapters by First Letter
One mourning practice is to use the first letters of chapters of Mishnah to spell out the name of the deceased. Here is a list ...
Exploring Judaism
September 3, 2024
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
Why Does Tisha B’Av Get So Much Play at Camp?
Tisha B'Av at camp is unlike anywhere else in the Jewish world. So why does Tisha B'Av get so much play at camp?
Sara Beth Berman (she/her)
July 26, 2024
Holidays
Observing Tisha B'av
Mourning a Miscarriage
While there are no specific rituals for mourning a miscarriage, there are practices and rituals to use in that time that can help healing.
Rabbi Miriam C. Berkowitz
June 19, 2024
Children
Death and Dying
A Yom HaZikaron like no other… God-willing
Yom HaZikaron is different this year. Our troops are still falling and getting wounded. The sense of loss and mourning is not theoretical.
Rabbi Amy Levin
May 9, 2024
Holidays
October 7th and Israel-Hamas War
Through My Children’s Eyes: Yom HaAtzmaut & Yom HaZikaron
Rabbi Rackover reflects on Yom HaZikkaron and Yom HaAtzmaut: For the first time, my daughter was afraid to share her Jewish identity. My heart broke.
Rabbi Mordechai Rackover
May 9, 2024
Holidays
October 7th and Israel-Hamas War
How Mourning Changes You
Pulling on a conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper about mourning, learn about how mourning can change you.
David Harrison
February 19, 2024
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
Remembering Our Loved Ones Before Us
When our loved ones die, who remembers those they remembered? Here's a way to remember all of those that came before us.
Rabbi Miriam T. Spitzer
September 21, 2023
Death and Dying
Family
Mourning: A Rabbi’s Own Perspective
A rabbi, familiar with leading others through the process of mourning, goes through the same. Rabbi David Baum remembers his mother.
Rabbi David Baum
August 25, 2023
Death and Dying
Holidays
What do I do if I can’t go to minyan when saying kaddish?
Saying Kaddish for a loved one is a cherished and prized custom, but it is not the only way to remember and honor the lives ...
Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone
May 19, 2023
Death and Dying
Every Day
Yahrzeit: The Jewish Anniversary of Someone’s Death
Yahrzeit should be a day given over to remembering and honoring an individual for whom one once sat shivah and is learning to live without.
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
May 8, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
What is Yizkor?
Yizkor consists of a collection of readings and recitations revolving around two central prayers: Yizkor prayers, and the El Malei Rachamim.
Rabbi Alan Lucas
,
The Observant Life (Book)
May 4, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
Tombstone Customs in Judaism
Tombstone customs in Judaism stem from the religious obligation to mark a grave. This is traditionally done with tombstones or stone markers.
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
February 28, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
Aninut: What Should Mourners Do Until Burial
The period from the time of death until burial is known as aninut - the customs of the mourners during the initial stages of bereavement. ...
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
February 26, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
What is Sheloshim?
Shloshim are the thirty days that follows the week of shivah and is considered a period of reduced mourning.
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
February 26, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
What is Shivah?
The word shivah refers to the seven days of mourning that follow the burial of a parent, child, sibling, or spouse.
Rabbi Carl Astor
,
The Observant Life (Book)
February 26, 2023
Death and Dying
Lifecycles
Yom Kippur Yizkor Service
The Memorial Service, Yizkor, is recited on Yom Kippur, one of four times throughout the year, to remember loved ones and Jewish martyrs.
Rabbi Alan Lucas
,
The Observant Life (Book)
October 3, 2022
High Holidays
Holidays
What is Counting the Omer
Counting the omer reflects the agricultural dimension of Passover and Shavuot and this is how we observe sefirat haomer today.
Rabbi Alan Lucas
,
The Observant Life (Book)
April 13, 2022
How to Count the Omer
The Omer