‘Minyan Prayer Group’
Formed
Formed
It was the desire of a number of members of our community to form a ‘Minyan Prayer Group’ that would come to the aid of a Jewish family observing the Shivah (explained below). The group has the necessary materials for the conduction of the ‘Minyanim Service’, and would also supply the number of participants needed.
The driving forces behind the effort to organize such a group were Irwin Schubert, Joel Moskow, Hal Wohl, and Ike Shalom. The group currently has 31 resident members, and their wives, making a total of 62 people. Any member of our community in need of the services of the group, or knowing of a neighbor who is in such need, please call:
Hal & Marsha Wohl – 732 928-5621
An Explanation of Jewish Customs during
The Mourning of the death of a family member
The Mourning of the death of a family member
As explained from the writings of Stephen Butterfass, for Religious Living on the Web
The period of mourning, for a Jew, begins as soon as the burial is over. On the first day of mourning, as an act of consideration for the needs of the mourners, Jewish tradition mandated that the bereaved were not to eat their own food as their first meal after the funeral. It is a mitzvah (a blessing) for friends and neighbors or for members of the community, to prepare a meal of condolence to be provided the mourners on returning from the cemetery. This practice is common to all branches of Judaism and should be considered an important act of sensitivity to another's need.
Visiting a house of mourning to comfort the family by your presence and to join together in prayer is also considered a blessing. The Jewish community is expected to join a minyan to honor the dead and comfort the bereaved. You need not have known the deceased or the family. What is required is the performance of the mitzvah. Those who visit a house of mourning should neither ring the bell nor knock before entering. The tradition also frowns on frivolous conversation. Visitors were traditionally not supposed to speak with the mourner until spoken to.
Following the funeral, there are seven days of intense mourning, called Shivah, or "seven". During these seven days, the tradition stated that it was forbidden to wear leather shoes, to work, to cover mirrors and pictures, not shave, and the sit on boxes or low stools, among other customs. The practice of observing shivah for a full seven days is not obligatory in Reform Judaism and should be a personal decision. Reform practice seems to consider three days as the minimum period of mourning and for the holding of minyanim, prayer services, at the home.
