Learn more about Jewish burial customs as members of the Queens Chevra Kadisha - an organization of Jewish men and women who prepare the bodies of deceased Jews for burial according to Jewish tradition - prepare a body for burial in a local funeral home.  Then visit Ed Bixby’s green burial cemetery and nature preserve and learn more about the growing trend of green funerals and how they cross over with Jewish traditions.

Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray

Produced by Jon Kalish

Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Randy Scott Carroll

Music by Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt and Sandcatchers. Courtesy of Chant Records.

Ed Bixby, Director (President), is the owner and operator of Steelmantown Green Burial Preserve in Steelmantown, NJ, as well as Purissima Natural Burial Ground in Half Moon Bay, CA. Director of the Green Burial Council.

Additional Information and Resources:

Jewish Death & Mourning 101, Myjewishlearning.com

Jewish Mourning FAQ, Myjewishlearning.com

Video: Why Do Jews Put Stones on Graves?, Myjewishlearning.com

How to Make a Shiva Call, Myjewishlearning.com

How Jewish Burials are Actually Green Burials Too, Reformjudaism.org

Green Burial Council

How do you speak to a loved one who is nearing death? What do you say when a terminally ill patient or family member asks “Why?”  How do you plan for your own version of “A Good End?” Rabbis, chaplains, a bereavement counselor, a social worker, and a teenager share their stories and they lessons they’ve learned.

Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray

Produced by Jon Kalish

Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Ang Santos

Music by Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt and Midwood. Courtesy of Chant Records

Rabbi Richard Address, Founder and Director of Jewish Sacred Aging.Charla Burton, Creative Arts Therapy Clinical Training Program Coordinator, MJHS Hospice & Palliative Care

Julie Lerner, Psychologist/Bereavement Coordinator at MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care, Jacob Perlow Hospice.

Rabbi Ronit Tsadok, Associate Rabbi/Director of Community Learning, ikar

Rabbi Jason Weiner, Senior Rabbi and Director of the Spiritual Care Department, Cedars-Sinai.

Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH, is a national advocate for transforming the way people die in America.

Sasha ZitterLois Perelson Gross, Instructor & Facilitator, What Matters: Caring Conversations About the End of Life

Additional Information and Resources:

Why Jews Need to Talk About Death, Myjewishlearning.com

The Surprising Connection Between Childbirth & Death, Kveller.com

End of Life Care in the Bible: What We Can Learn from Jacob, Moses & Sarah’s Final Moments, Myjewishlearning.com

Jewish Sacred Aging

What Matters: Caring Conversations About End of Life

What does Judaism have to say about the right to die? A majority of traditional and contemporary Jewish sources prohibit assisted suicide as well as passive euthanasia - i.e. withholding care. Learn how rabbis, hospital chaplains, and doctors help patients accept the realities of their illnesses and find peace in their final days.

Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray

Produced by Jon Kalish

Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Ang Santos

Music by Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt and Midwood. Courtesy of Chant Records.

Rabbi Charles Rudansky, Director of Pastoral Care, MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care

Rabbi Jason Weiner, Senior Rabbi and Director of the Spiritual Care Department, Cedars-Sinai.

Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH, is a national advocate for transforming the way people die in America.

Additional Information and Resources:

Does Judaism Believe in the Right to Die?, Myjewishlearning.com

Jewish Perspectives on End of Life Care, Myjewishlearning.com

When I Realized My Dad Didn’t Want to Get Better, Kveller.com

Many people believe that hospice is about helping someone die. Hospice care providers will tell you that it is actually about helping someone live. Music therapy provides hospice patients and their families with social, spiritual, and emotional support and has been proven to help decrease pain perception. Listen to music therapist, Meredith Ferrel’s home visit with Albert, a hospice patient with lymphoma, and to the music they create together.

Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray

Produced by Jon Kalish

Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Ang Santos

Music by Eyal Talmudi Quintet, Jessica Lurie, John Lee, and Koby Israelite. Courtesy of Chant Records.

Albert Young

Toby Weiss, Director of Cultural Sensitivity and Jewish Programming for MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care

Charla Burton, MMT, LCAT, MT-BC Music Therapist, Creative Arts Therapy Program MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care

Meredith Ferrel, MA, LCAT, MT-BC Music Therapist, Creative Arts Therapy Program MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care

Additional Information and Resources:

Bringing Joy and Therapy to Hospice Patients Through Jewish Music , JTA.com

9 Tips for Visiting Someone in Hospice, Kveller.com

The Surprising Thing That Helped My Mom Live Longer Than Anyone Thought She Would, Kveller.com

Judaism, Hospice & Palliative Care: Questions & Answers, MyJewishlearning.com

The Jewish values of prolonging life, but not prolonging suffering come face to face with modern technologies such as artificial nutrition, hydration, and intubation. In this episode, a rabbi, doctor, social worker, and biomedical ethicist discuss the ways they help patients and families navigate the difficult issues that arise toward the end of life.

Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray

Produced by Jon Kalish

Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Karen Michel

Music by Eyal Talmudi Quintet, Jessica Lurie, Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt, John Lee, Sandcatchers, and The Modulators. Courtesy of Chant Records

Rabbi Jason Weiner, Senior Rabbi and Director of the Spiritual Care Department, Cedars-Sinai.

Ira Bedzow, Ph.D., Director of the Biomedical Ethics and Humanities Program at New York Medical College. Senior Scholar, The Aspen Center for Social Values

Adam Schoenfarber, Social Worker Manager with MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care.

Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH, is a national advocate for transforming the way people die in America.

Additional Information and Resources:

Jewish Perspectives on End of Life Care, Myjewishlearning.com

Must-Know Words & Phrases Related to End of Life Care, MyJeiwshlearning.com

Judaism, Hospice & Palliative Care: Questions & Answers, MyJewishlearning.com

My Feelings About Organ Donation Were Complicated, Until This Happened, Kveller.com

No one wants to think about their own death - or the death of a loved one, but these experiences can be meaningful and even life-affirming. Rabbi Joy Levitt shares the experience of discussing end-of-life care planning with her 90-year-old mother and the surprising and touching discoveries she made along the way. Learn how initiatives like Jewish Sacred Aging and What Matters are equipping baby boomers and members of the sandwich generation with the courage, vocabulary, and knowledge needed to have these important conversations with their loved ones

Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray Produced by Jon Kalish Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Ang Santos Music by Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt, Midwood, and Sandcatchers. Courtesy of Chant Records

Ira Bedzow, Ph.D., Director of the Biomedical Ethics and Humanities Program at New York Medical College. Senior Scholar, The Aspen Center for Social Values

Rabbi Richard Address, Founder and Director of Jewish Sacred Aging.

Lois Perelson-Gross

Sally Kaplan, Program Director, What Matters: Caring Conversations About End of Life, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

Rabbi Joy Levitt, Executive Director, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan

Additional Information and Resources:

Why Jews Need to Talk About Death, MyJewishLearning.com

How to Talk to Your Loved Ones About Your End of Life Wishes, MyJewishLearning.com

Jewish Perspectives on End of Life Care, MyJewishLearning.com

If I’m Ever in a Coma, Please Thread My Eyebrows, Kveller.com

Jewish Sacred Aging

What Matters: Caring Conversations About End of Life

UJA-Federation of New York

Getting adults to talk about death is difficult. So, what if we started sooner? Some schools are beginning to include Death Education as part of their curriculum. Sasha Zitter relates her experience with Death Ed alongside her high school peers. Learn how initiatives like Death Over Dinner and Death Over Dinner Jewish Edition are getting Baby Boomers, Gen X-ers, and Millenials to discuss death in carefully crafted, intimate group settings.

Produced and Edited by Lisa M. Gray Produced by Jon Kalish Additional Production by Kevin Huffman and Ang Santos Music by Eyal Talmudi Quintet, Jessica Lurie, Brett Higgins’ Atlas Revolt, and John Lee. Courtesy of Chant Records.

Rabbi Ronit Tsadok, Associate Rabbi/Director of Community Learning, Ikar

Rochelle Friedlich, Participant, Death Over Dinner: Jewish Edition

Sarah Robinson, Participant, Death Over Dinner: Jewish Edition

Sasha Zitter

Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH, is a national advocate for transforming the way people die in America.

Additional Information and Resources:

Talking About Death Over Dinner With Strangers, MyJewishLearning.com

Why Jews Need to Talk About Death, MyJewishLearning.com

How to Talk to Your Loved Ones About Your End of Life Wishes, MyJewishLearning.com

Jewish Perspectives on End of Life Care, MyJewishLearning.com

"First, Sex Ed. Then Death Ed." By Jessica Nutik Zitter. New York Times. February 18, 2017. "Doctor Takes Death Education to High School Classrooms," NPR. February 25, 2017.

A new Jewish conversation around death and dying in the 21st century.