Funerals & Memorials

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FUNERALS & MEMORIALS

At such a terribly difficult time as the death of a beloved person, Jewish tradition offers a framework of comfort and support that is wise and practical. Over centuries, our Sages have carefully created rituals that both deeply honor the person who has died and offer loving support for the grieving and healing process of the living.

“Eternal Source of Blessing, You give us loved ones and make them the strength of our life, the light of our eyes. They depart and leave us bereft on a lonely way, but You remain as the living fountain from which our healing flows. Through You we see life as through windows that open on eternity. We see that love endures and the soul endures, as You endure forever.” — The Jewish Memorial Service

Within this framework, there is also quite a bit of flexibility for creating the kind of service that is most fitting for each family. For some, that will mean full observance of all the steps and rituals, including tahara, a graveside service, the “meal of comfort”, shiva, shaloshim, the stone setting, or “unveiling” ceremony, and of course, yartzheit and yizkor remembrances. For other families, a simple memorial service and private burial may feel more appropriate.

Along with being available to officiate (or co-officiate) at funerals, memorials and shiva minyans, I can guide you through all the various rituals – their finer points and also their significance – and help you reach the decisions, both practical and emotional/spiritual, that will feel most appropriate. When time and distance allow, I like to meet with families in person in order to plan; meeting by phone and Skype also work fine.

“It is our tradition, in times of grief, to listen to our Sacred Writings, to the Voice within which brings us the ever new message of G-d’s nearness to us all. G-d is with us in light as in darkness, in joy as in sorrow, in life as in death.” — The Jewish Memorial Service

I am also trained in grief counseling, and can offer help and support as you find your way through this difficult terrain to healing and to life.

“Let us be comforted and trusting that a human life is full of meaning and purpose, even in death. For each human life is sacred.”
— The Reverend Lucy Bunch, Unitarian Universalist

Due to the private and individualized needs of families at a time of loss, I refrain from listing a “standardized” honorarium on a public website. Rather, please feel free to call or email me to discuss this, or any other aspect of a Jewish funeral or memorial service. I welcome interfaith families and can also help you integrate needs that arise from the interfaith perspective.

For more information about Jewish funerals and memorials,
please feel free to call me at [916] 442-7315,
or email me at info@rabbishulastevens.net.
Or, visit my CONTACT page.
I would love to hear from you.