Mourn

Early Zionist thinkers envisioned, in great detail, the perfect human--and Jewish--society.

At death, several gestures indicate respect for the deceased as well as acceptance of the reality of death.

Kaddish Yatom, an Aramaic prayer glorifying God, is recited by mourners.

The idea that the soul is the human instrument of spirituality became more prominent over the course of Jewish history.

The Transmigrating Soul. Jewish Reincarnation. Jewish Life After Death. Jewish Afterlife and Eschatology. Jewish View on Next Life. Jewish Ideas and Beliefs

Though the survival of the soul after death is hinted at in the Hebrew Bible, it became an explicit doctrine only in the early centuries of the Common Era.

Amending prayers that mention resurrection to accord with modern sensibilities.

By the second century at the latest, belief in resurrection had entered Jewish liturgy and legal writing.

The misguided belief that one needs all body parts intact to be resurrected may contribute to the poor rate of organ donation--even for Jews with otherwise untraditional beliefs.

A guide for building sacred community.

On attending to mourners, anticipating dying, accepting death, and appropriate burial rites.

Sometimes there is a conflict between the mandate to save lives and the mandate to avoid health risks.