Mystical ideas on Yom Kippur and the Jewish view of the Afterlife

Preparing the bodies of the deceased should not be hidden from view. It is a holy and a magnificent act of love. The bathing, the prayers, the dressing in shrouds are done in silence and reverence. The confrontation with death is life affirming.

For years I have been an active member of our local Chevra kadisha . My experiences have profoundly and positively affected  the way I view literally everything. I have had the honor of washing hundreds of women, some of whom I knew in life. I’ve washed the mothers and daughters of my friends and my own very dear friends. It is done with love for them and for their journey which one day we will all take. We all want to be taken care of.

 Jewish wisdom teaches us that this world is just a corridor, a vestibule leading to the next world. It is hidden from us what comes next and when it’ll be our turn to move on. But it is a reality.

No one  lives forever, yet we live like we do . None of us will escape that destiny. Let’s not live our lives frightened. We instinctively fear what we don’t know,  the unknown,  that dark abyss called death.

Let’s change the conversation. Let’s bring it out into the light. When we go on a trip we research where we are going, what we need to bring with us and what to anticipate. I suggest we should do that for our ultimate destiny.  We should do that with our lives!!!!

We on the chevra  kadisha come face to face with death regularly and it continues to change me.

I challenge us to learn about the Jewish wisdom about death and the World to Come. I challenge us to learn about the holy work of the chevra kadisha so we can prepare ourselves for what is to come.