Source: Florida Jewish Journal
Rochel Berman of Boca Raton — a member of the Boca Raton Synagogue Chevra Kadisha (sacred burial society) and consultant to the Congregation B'nai Torah Chevra Kadisha in Boca Raton — has embarked on a trailblazing project to develop a curriculum and study guide for Jewish high school students to learn about the Jewish preparation for burial. Berman has partnered with Rabbi Jonathan Kroll, head of school at Weinbaum Yeshiva High School (WYHS) in Boca Raton, to introduce the eight-session course titled "The Final Journey: How Judaism Dignifies the Passage."
Berman's goal is to demonstrate the course at WYHS -- the pilot course will be taken by 28 girls in the WYHS senior class -- and then to disseminate it to Jewish high schools in all streams of Judaism throughout the English-speaking world.
The content of the course will center about the role of the Chevra Kadisha, the Jewish Burial Society, as advocates of the deceased prior to burial. The study guide will include a comprehensive outline of each topic followed by activities for students such as suggested readings, written assignments and topics for discussion.
A basic tenet of Judaism is the obligation to value and serve the deceased — to extend dignity beyond death — with the collective response of the Chevra Kadisha to a death bringing dignity to the deceased and simultaneously strengthening and building a caring community.
Read more at the Florida Jewish Journal.