Essay On Jewish Funerals

For my loss experience, I visited Chicago Jewish Funerals in Skokie, Illinois. I took a tour of the funeral home and spoke with one of the funeral directors, Mr. Jeremy Seaver. Jeremy has been with this organization since 2004. “I want to help create a sense of caring community for people during this difficult time so they don’t feel alone when experiencing a loss”, says Mr. Seaver. Mr. Seaver also gave me an overview of what a typical Jewish funeral is like. He explained that, before the funeral, the deceased person is dressed in a white gown. In Judaism, this symbolizes equality and everyone is ultimately the same in death. I also learned that at the funeral itself, the casket is closed and placed at the front of the room. A rabbi typically leads the mourners in prayers, and the the deceased person’s family and friends are then allowed to deliver remarks and memories about the person who died. He explained that typically, the casket is then loaded into a car known as a hearse, and then all of the mourners follow that car to the cemetery. At the cemetery, the casket is lowered into the grave and people are invited

They want to make this difficult period easier for families, and this is only possible by tailoring the funeral process to their specific needs. Chicago Jewish Funerals helps families accomplish this before death occurs, including worksheets regarding advanced directives, a checklist for pre-planning for after death, and a list for the family to indicate which people to contact after death has occurred. It also includes a place for the person to fill out information about themselves, such as date of birth, educational information, etc. This is all done in an effort to help the family feel more in control in a time of uncertainty, as well as to make sure all of the person’s wishes are respected at the time of death and