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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Mourning, Noon And Night
By
Gary Rosenblatt
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The contrast between the American spectacle of celebrity death worship and the Jewish tradition of mourning has rarely been as sharply defined.
I write these words 12 days after Michael Jackson died. The star's death has become as big a phenomenon as his troubled life. His family members hold press conferences, appear at music awards ceremonies and allow tickets to be distributed through a lottery for a huge, public memorial ceremony.
Everything about the situation seems makeshift, excessive and out of control.
In Judaism, by contrast, upon death there is an emphasis on burial as soon as possible, for the dignity of the deceased and to ease the emotional strain on the family. Rituals and practices are prescribed in great detail, a tradition of order, creating a measured response to grief. It is intense for the seven days of shiva, then eases after 30 days, but the mourning period for a parent is a full 11 months, during which time Kaddish, praising G-d, is recited several times a day.
Judaism's handling of death is a blend of psychological sensitivity and theological faith, grounded in the recognition that death is a part of life.
The mourner is brought back to the reality of the everyday experience gradually, over time.
Alas, we Jews know a great deal about incorporating mourning into our lives. It is part of our annual calendar, and this week we begin the saddest days of the Jewish year, a three-week period of remembrance and graduated grief that grows in intensity, culminating in Tisha b'Av, marking the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.
While Western culture glorifies the individual — and celebrity deaths elicit a huge outpouring of emotion, from Elvis to Princess Diana to the King of Pop — in Judaism the emphasis is on the collective, and we celebrate, pray and grieve as a group. On Tisha b'Av, we mourn our national fate and the deaths of ordinary Jews, in the readings of elegies and the Book of Lamentations, noting the tragedies that have befallen our people over the centuries on the Ninth of Av.
We know the yahrtzeit of Moses, our greatest leader (the seventh of Adar), but it is not a national day of mourning. That is reserved for the destruction of the Temple, and the nameless men, women and children who perished along with Jewish sovereignty. We mark the yahrtzeit of rabbis and sages, not cultural icons, in a contemplative way, through prayer, study and pledges of charity.
Judaism is less about personal heroes than about recognizing our charge to improve the world, based on faith, justice and acts of kindness.
In America, mainstream religions have their wakes and memorial services, but outpourings of grief over our celebrities tends to be intense, fleeting and, for most of us, passive. We are captives of the media, watching endless "Breaking News" reports that offer little in the way of new information, aware that we are seeing the same footage recycled day after day. (Poor Farrah Fawcett had the misfortune of dying on the same day as Michael Jackson, bumped off the headlines for eternity.)
We are focused, mesmerized — until the next tragedy, when we move on.
Part of the genius of our religion, by contrast, is in its collective memory, its ability to recall and relive long-ago events by internalizing them. The Exodus from Egypt is still real for us because, through the annual Seder, we taste the bitterness of slavery in the maror and the sweetness of freedom in the four cups of wine.
When a loved one dies, we recite the Kaddish several times each day and participate in a minyan, finding solace in praying for the soul of the departed and in being with other worshippers, not alone.
And on Tisha b'Av we relive the destruction of the Temple. Though the events took place 20 centuries ago, we abstain from food and drink for more than 24 hours, and in many synagogues worshippers sit on the floor as mourners, reading and reciting aloud the wrenching eyewitness account of the tragedy.
We shed tears for the resulting exile from the Promised Land, for the loss of life and of G-d's tangible presence on earth.
In short, we take a momentous event and make the experience real; our society's form of national grief, with its televised hype and imagery, is to take an ephemeral event and make the experience unreal.
Exactly a decade ago, July 16, 1999, Americans underwent a public grieving for John F. Kennedy Jr., killed at 38 with his wife and sister-in-law in a plane crash. We wept for another young Kennedy prince brought down by tragedy, and for the fate of unfulfilled promises within each of us. We were glued to our televisions for several days and nights, and then it was all over.
Similarly, as much as Michael Jackson dominates the news now, his story will soon recede from our consciousness.
For the Jewish people, the experiences of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, the commands of Moses and the tragedy of Tisha b'Av have been neither forgotten nor lost. The events of the ancient past are still real for us, the joy of the festivals refreshes our spirits each year and the recitation of Lamentations takes us from grief to acceptance.
Indeed, we are taught that ultimately Tisha b'Av will be a day of great joy in Messianic times. The Talmud says: "Those who mourn for Jerusalem will merit to see it in its joy."
Perhaps when we open ourselves to emotions that go beyond us as individuals, connecting us to our past as well as our future, rooted in a mission of mitzvahs, religious duties, we have the ability to transcend our mortal limitations. We hope that with the Three Weeks now upon us, the time spent reflecting on the pain of Jewish history will lead to the reward of someday sharing in its glory as well.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes inspiring articles. Sign up for our daily update. It's free. Just click here.
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JWR contributor Gary Rosenblatt is Editor and Publisher of the The Jewish Week.
© 2009, The Jewish Week
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