Mitzvah Guidance

"I invented the word eco-kosher, to say that this is ecologically kosher. Now I'll give you an example of eco-kosher. The regular kosher way, is about the dishes that mustn't be contaminated, etc. If I pick a cup to have coffee, Styrofoam would be the best thing to have. It hasn't been used before and after I drink from it, I'll throw it away and nobody else will use it.

In many ways the process of deciding what to engrave on the headstone, matzeiva in Hebrew,  is part of the healing process. The headstone is generally placed within 3 and 11 months of the funeral. Literally, as the acute state of mourning moves into grieving, engraving their names, dates, and some of what is discussed below in stone that is witnessed at an unveiling and visited over the years is so deeply important and powerful. Even years later, if somehow family left this undone, or years were skipped out of anger, distance, and more, still profound. 

Stone is a powerful Biblical metaphor, and to understand this in relation to headstone, please see this article. 

How are Tefiillin made?

Tefillin are a set of two leather boxes filled with parchments on which a scribe has written specific verses from the Torah, then attached the boxes to leather straps, each knotted so that one can go around your head and one around your weaker [non-dominant] arm. It is quite complex to make Tefiillin, and one is best served by buying good quality ones made by a scribe. The term tefillin (Aramaic) shares the root of tefillah, prayer.

Why a Kippah?

PREPARATION 

1. If possible do this as a room or home dedication--Hanukkat HaBayit--Dedication of the House, by inviting friends to participate with their presence. The root of Hanukkat, like Hanukkah, is חָנַך ha-nakh, which also means education and consecration. It's nice to do this on a Saturday night, after offering a Havallah ceremony to end Shabbat.

A challenging point in weddings, B-Mitzvah and baby namings can be the absence of loved ones recently deceased, who are too far off to be able to attend, who are doing military service, or who can’t be present for other reasons. What to do?

• You can have the person leading the rite invoke the memory of the absent one’s early on, if you wish; immediately after the opening verses of song, psalm or prayer is generally a good spot for this.

First published in Living Jewish Life Cycle: How to Create Read more »