“It is hard to work through
one’s grief when there are so many cover-ups and so many
different kinds of denial at work within the culture. And that
is why this book is of so much importance. Anne Brener has
crafted a walkway through the valley of the shadow of death.
The walkway has thorns and bramble bushes on it but it leads to
the other side, beyond grief, for those who are willing to stay
the course.
Keep this book for time of need and do the
grief-work in which it instructs us and you will see that this
long and wise heritage of ours still has the power to speak, to
heal and to comfort—even in our time.”
—from the Foreword by Rabbi Jack Riemer
For those who mourn a death, for those who
would help them and for those who face a loss of any kind, Mourning & Mitzvah teaches you the power and strength available to
you in the fully experienced mourning process.
When the temple stood in the ancient city
of Jerusalem, mourners walked through the gates and into the
courtyard along a specifically designated mourner’s path.
As they walked, they came face to face
with all the other members of the community, who greeted them
with the ancestor of the blessing, “May God comfort you
among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.” In this way,
the community embraced those suffering bereavement, yet allowed
for unique experiences of grief.
In this new and expanded edition of a
modern classic, Anne Brener brings us an innovative integration
of Jewish tradition and modern professional resources. It gives
spiritual insight and healing wisdom to those in our own time
who mourn a death, to those who would help them and to those
who face a loss of any kind.
“Enthusiastically recommended as a
valuable discussion of a universal experience.”
—Publishers
Weekly
“A splendid resource for readers of
any philosophical persuasion.”
—The
Millennium Whole Earth Catalog
“This book is marvelous. It is a
work that I wish I had written. It is the best book on this
subject that I have ever seen.”
—Rabbi
Levi Meier, PhD, chaplain,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; author, Ancient Secrets: Using the Stories of the Bible to
Improve Our Everyday Lives
“Insightful and understanding.... A
realistic guide which will help secure healing for those who
have suffered loss.”
—Rabbi
Lee Bycel, dean, School of
Rabbinics, Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of
Religion
“I feared it would be too much
centered on the Jewish tradition to be meaningful for my
situation, but not so at all. It spoke to me throughout. Your
methods of healing are so basic and human that I believe they
would be accessible to many groups, with or without their own
religious traditions.”
—Libby
Ingalls, a non-Jewish mourner
“My dad is gone and I will continue
to deal with that for years to come, yet I feel peaceful and
comforted by my encounter with Mourning
& Mitzvah, and I am deeply
grateful to Anne Brener for having written it.”
—Linda
Zweig, Jewish mourner
“An important book with the power to
bring Jews closer to Judaism and closer to the Source of life
and death.”
—Rabbi
Sue Elwell, director, Los Angeles
Jewish Feminist Center
“As a rabbi who must deal on a daily
basis with aspects of mourning, there are few books that I can
turn to for guidance, let alone suggest to be read by those I
am comforting.... I am unaware of a book that is as helpful or
as complete.... Bridges the gap between Judaism and
psychology.... Underscores the wisdom of the Jewish tradition
and its understanding of the process of healing.”
—Rabbi
Arthur Gross Schaefer, Congregation
B’nai B’rith, Santa Barbara, Calif.
About the Contributors
Rabbi William Cutter is professor of education and Hebrew literature at
Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in Los
Angeles. He is active in many health organizations and serves
as lecturer in chaplaincy at the College–Institute. He
was chair of the editorial committee for The Jewish Mourner’s Handbook, published by Behrman House.
Rabbi Jack Riemer of Congregation Beth Tikvah in Boca Raton, Florida,
is the coeditor of So That Your
Values Live On: Ethical Wills and How to Prepare Them (Jewish Lights) and the editor of Jewish Reflections on Death.
