Go in peace

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A funeral is beginning right now in Chicago, at Emanuel Congregation. 
My beloved Rebbetzin, Lotte Schaalman, died on Friday, at home, exactly on her 102nd birthday. 
I wish my equally beloved Rabbi, who is nearing 101, the strength now to carry on without his helpmate. They were married for 75 years. 
I thank them both for all they have given me and my family. 
Mrs. Schaalman so often impressed upon me what I think was her life-philosophy, saying "I never promised you a rose garden."   -- We take what comes and make the best of it. 
Rest in peace, dear Lotte, you deserve a little rest after a long lifetime of taking care of everyone else. 
May God bless you and welcome you.

(A photo, not my own, from ca. 2014, maybe.)

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Going out in style

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This elegant carved and painted wood carriage was made in Szarvas, Hungary, in the 19th century.
Would you believe, it was used for funerals!
I'd call that going out in style.

The sign next to it at the Israel Museum says this about the Chevra Kadisha (Jewish burial society) carriage:

Accompanying the dead on their final journey towards burial is part of the tradition of honoring the deceased and is already mentioned in Rabbinic literature as one of the essential deeds "for which one is rewarded in one's lifetime and also earns a reward in the world to come."
Funeral processions were held with due ceremony and the deceased was carried in a special vehicle, such as this majestic carriage from Hungary.

City Daily Photo bloggers are meeting at our portal for the June 1st Theme Day.
Visit and see how they are interpreting today's theme, "Stylish."
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A Jewish funeral, Israel style

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Have you ever been to a Jewish funeral?
I can walk you through the normal Israeli way of burial if you'd like.
Last Tuesday we were at this big cemetery in central Israel. 

Relatives and friends of the deceased arrive on their own and then gather in  this building.
There is a little time to greet the mourners and converse.
The body should be buried as soon as possible after death, preferably with 24 hours.

 Then the shocking part comes, when they bring the body, wrapped in a white shroud, on a stretcher and put it on this bier.  That's where I start crying.

Folks gather round while someone gives a eulogy.  

The collar of the close family is cut by the Chevra Kaddisha (burial society) official.

The immediate relatives (male)  recite the Kaddish prayer. 

On the wall is written verse 7 of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) 12:

"And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."

 

 

Four mourners carry the stretcher out onto this wagon . . .

 
and the long walk to the far side of the sprawling cemetery begins.
The Orthodox Chevra Kaddisha man chants prayers and Psalms along the way.

The body is lowered into a deep grave, covered with a few concrete slabs, and then covered with the good earth of Israel.
Male people are welcome to shovel a bit of dirt.
But the main work is then quickly done by a young religious man with a turia (a big hoe).
The closest relatives say Kaddish again.   El Malei Rachamim (God, full of mercy) is sung by the cantor.
A few people bring flowers but the more Jewish custom is for each to put a little stone on the grave. 
And that's it, the end of a life. 

My kids and I lingered around the fresh grave until a Bobcat drove up behind us and already started digging new holes.

Then the tractor drove in loaded with the concrete slabs.
Wow, they couldn't wait.
People are dying to get in to this cemetery.
Other cemeteries have run out of ground and are now burying people in multi-story fashion.

Thirty days after the burial the family returns for the ceremony to set the tombstone.
I must admit, the Jewish way of burial and mourning is very respectful and the ritual is supportive.

People say in Hebrew,  "May you be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem and may you know only good news."
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You are welcome to see the two previous posts on this subject.
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Linking to ABC Wednesday.)

All together for Abba

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Yes, I have been away for the last week.
It was a sad week but also a glad one.
My kids flew in from Australia and California and all the family reunited in Tel Aviv, that was the glad part.
They came for a funeral: on February 10 at noon their father was buried.
Moshe has been my ex-husband for a long time, but he was my husband for 22 years.
He died a good death after only one day and one night in the hospital, with his two oldest daughters at his side. 
Now the week of mourning has ended and the kids are already on their flights to the far corners of the world.
I am back home in the desert with lots of new memories and photographs.
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Another Meitar soldier buried

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Another thing the setting sun did was to get reflected in the bus stop plastic.

It felt so symbolic that the reflected sun was going down, that the light of day was fading,  right next to the army's death announcement for Staff Sergeant Noam Rosenthal, son of Martin and Osnat, of Meitar.
He was just 20, a combat medic in the Armored Corps.

Noam was the second (and please God, the last) boy from Meitar, my small town, to die in the Gaza operation.

photo: IDF Spokesman's Office 

Noam and three of his comrades  were killed on the night of August 1 when a mortar shell fired from Gaza exploded in a staging area inside Israel's  Eshkol Regional Council, near the Gaza border.

Fifteen other  soldiers were wounded in the incident.

As I heard on TV,  they had just come back from combat and were getting some sleep on the ground next to their tanks when the mortar hit. 

Within seconds these small but deadly mortars reach our border area with only a shrieking sound of warning;  no Red Alert sirens, no Iron Dome. 

The families who live in Sderot and in kibbutzim and moshavim near Gaza have suffered from sporadic mortar fire for years. -- Imagine their children who are growing up in this constant fear.  Innocent civilians . . .

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(Linking to Weekend Reflections.)

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Meitar buries a soldier son

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Today I let myself cry, for the first time this war.
It was inevitable when the command car  drove by carrying a native son of Meitar  in a coffin with a wreath on it.

Residents lined the streets along the funeral route from the entrance of Meitar all the way to the outlying  cemetery.
A human chain of solidarity to show our respect to the mourning family.

Our small town has a small cemetery with no actual parking lot.
So people trekked on foot in the hot afternoon sun all the way to the cemetery.
Soldiers came.

And Scouts came.
All Meitar's youth movements came walking.

A staggering total of 20,000 people attended the funeral, despite the threat of being exposed to possible rocket fire.

Captain Liad Lavi, 22, was shot during a firefight between a Hamas cell and Liad's Paratroopers  unit.

He leaves parents and six brothers.

The Times of Israel liveblog reports his mother's parting words:

“In our last conversations, you said you didn’t want to stay in the army, because the higher you’re promoted, the more the connection with soldiers lessens, and this you didn’t want,” his mother, Drora, says in the eulogy.
“I have so much to tell the world about you, and to you personally. All of your actions were done modestly. You took on responsibility beyond what is required, but you didn’t forget that you must take care of your mother, and you were willing to fight the world for me.”

There is also a photo of Liad there, at timestamp 18:52.

The Jerusalem Post also has a report.
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And so it continues.
Just this afternoon four soldiers were killed in a mortar attack inside Israel, just across the border with Gaza; and five soldiers died defending Kibbutz Nahal Oz against terrorists who infiltrated Israel through their accursed attack tunnels. 
The total of fallen soldiers has jumped to 53. 
You can see there is a lot to cry about.
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday.)
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Blessed be the Thais

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These are greenhouses way down near the Dead Sea.
They say that Thai workers can withstand the heat inside because they are used to it. 

About 30,000 Thais are employed in Israel, most in agriculture and some in factories.
Some 4,000 work on farms  nearer the Mediterranean,  just north of the Gaza Strip.

Several days ago a guest worker in his mid-30s who had been in the country only one month was severely wounded when a Gaza mortar hit the hothouse where he was working.

He was rushed to the hospital in Ashkelon by helicopter where he succumbed to his injuries, becoming Israel's third civilian casualty.

Today a Buddhist monk officiated at the funeral ceremony for Narakorn Kittiyangkul.
May he rest in peace.
His body was flown back to Thailand.  
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See  http://www.timesofisrael.com/thailand-asks-israel-to-move-workers-from-the-south/
and the report in the Bangkok Post.
Also my post from March 2010 about a Thai killed by a Kassam rocket from Gaza.
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A big thank you to those Thai workers who carry on and stay in Israel during these dangerous weeks.
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UPDATE July 28:  Meanwhile Ynet has published an article about this:

Wake held for Thai worker who was killed by mortar shell

Ceremony held in Netiv HaAsara in memory of Narakorn Kittiyangkul, before his body was sent back to Thailand for burial.

Matan Tzuri

Published:  07.27.14, 23:21 / Israel News

Dozens of Thai workers arrived to the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council on Saturday to attend the wake of Narakorn Kittiyangkul, the 36-year-old Thai worker who was killed last week from a mortar shell that hit the Netiv HaAsara greenhouses.

A Buddhist monk arrived especially in order to conduct the ceremony that was attended by dozens of Thai workers.
Kittiyangkul was killed while working at a tomato greenhouse. He was having breakfast with his coworkers when a volley of mortar shells was fired at them. He was severely wounded and was declared dead several minutes later.
The wake was held in Israel before his body is taken back to Thailand for burial. During the ceremony, attendees lit candles, prayed and bowed their heads in front of Kittiyangkul's photo that was placed on a table decorated with flowers.
According to Thai tradition, the attendees and the monk that hosted the ceremony prayed for Kittiyangkul's soul.
Residents from Netiv HaAsara also attended the ceremony and took part in it.
"The Thai workers are a part of our society, a part of our community, and that's why we stand by their side in this difficult time, that is also a difficult time for us," one of the Netiv HaAsara residents said.
After the ceremony, Kittiyangkul's body was taken to the airport, from which it will be flown to Thailand, to be buried in his home village.
The head of the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, Yair Farjon, said: "We are deeply saddened by the death of the Thai worker. He was a dedicated worker who paid a heavy price for something that was no fault of his. We send our condolences to the family." 

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UPDATE Aug. 20:   120 small shelters are being put in the fields for the workers and farmers near the Gaza Strip.   See
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Agriculture-Ministry-installing-shelters-on-farmland-on-Gazan-perimeter-371686 
and also
http://www.timesofisrael.com/port-o-shelters-placed-in-fields-to-shield-vulnerable-farmers/
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The sad and so difficult day

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An unusual tombstone, made from our local stone, in Meitar cemetery

After 18 long days of hoping and praying, waiting and searching, the bodies of Israel's three kidnapped boys were found yesterday.
The funeral services will begin soon for 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach  at the synagogue in the family's home community of Elad;   of 16-year-old Naftali Frenkel will depart from the synagogue in his home town of Nof Ayalon;  and  of 16-year-old Gil-Ad Shaer will depart from the central synagogue in his home town of Talmon.

Everyone will then come together at the cemetery in Modiin where the boys will be laid to rest side by side. 

 May God somehow console their parents and families. 
A whole nation comes together in mourning. 
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Live coverage now of the very moving funerals. Watch even if you don't know Hebrew.
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Follow the liveblog at The Times of Israel for full information.
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A tree weeps

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In Meitar's small cemetery a tree weeps,  sap running down fence stones.
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Tomorrow Israel will bury Arik Sharon on a hill at his Shikmim Ranch in the Negev, next to his wife.
Today TV showed the preparations for the funeral there.
As I watched a backhoe digging the grave and men lining the deep hole with cinder blocks, the reality hit home--Israel is losing "dor tashach," the generation of 1948, of "nefilim" (giants),  the Palmach generation, the founders of our State.
One by one they are returning to the earth of the Land they loved. 
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See any of the Israeli papers for more on Ariel Sharon and the state of the Nation:
The Times of Israel,   The Jerusalem Post,  Haaretz,   Ynetnews.
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Wink at the moon for Neil Armstrong

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A full moon rises over the Jerusalem Hills

Neil Armstrong will be buried in Cincinnati on Friday, the day of the full moon.
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The statement Armstrong's family released upon his death requested that the public honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, adding "and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."
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(For SkyWatch Friday)
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Going out in style

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This elegant carved and painted wood carriage was made in Szarvas, Hungary, in the 19th century.
Would you believe?--it was used for funerals!

The sign next to it at the Israel Museum says this about the Chevra Kadisha (Jewish burial society) carriage:

Accompanying the dead on their final journey towards burial is part of the tradition of honoring the deceased and is already mentioned in Rabbinic literature as one of the essential deeds "for which one is rewarded in one's lifetime and also earns a reward in the world to come."
Funeral processions were held with due ceremony, and the deceased was carried in a special vehicle, such as this majestic carriage from Hungary.

Please enlarge the photo to read about our Jewish way of death and mourning.
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Julie's Taphophile Tragics is about cemeteries and the interesting stories in them, but I think this wagon might qualify for the meme.
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The Sacred Bridge

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(photo from Amazon.com)

Prof. Anson Rainey, who has been called  "probably the world’s greatest authority on Semitic languages," will be buried at noon today in Barkan.
Israel and the world have lost a great scholar and teacher.
Born in 1930, he got his first degree in Arkansas and came to Israel in 1960.
Rainey converted to Judaism at the age of 50.
His CV, posted at the Tel Aviv University Department of Archaeology website, is an astonishing read in itself.
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The culmination of his life's work,  The Sacred Bridge. The Carta Atlas of the Biblical World,  was published in Jerusalem in 2006. 

From the book's blurb: 
“The Land of Canaan, the Land of Israel and early Roman Judea are treated as the southern part of the Levant, and as the focus in Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean history. The Levant is the land bridge between Asia and Africa, between Greco-Roman culture and the coasts of Arabia. As such it has seen the influx of peoples bringing new blood and initiatives to the life of the region. It has also suffered the conquerors’ heel as ancient empires sought to dominate this geographical hub of communications and commerce. The historical experience of the southern Levant, well documented in the Bible and in many inscriptions from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria and Anatolia, has become enshrined in Jewish/Christian tradition … It is therefore more than a land bridge between different cultures. It is a bridge of faith.”

This post is therefore added to the Sunday Bridges meme.

See also   BiblePlaces.com blog and a review of  The Sacred Bridge.  Photos of Rainey are here.

Shalom and thanks, Professor Rainey.  Go in peace.
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The Mount of Rest---Har Hamenuchot

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The white bits you see on the two slopes are only part of Jerusalem's largest cemetery, opened in 1951.
As the official municipal burial ground, Har Hamenuchot accommodates free burials for Israeli citizens, although the choice of plot is left to the municipal chevra kadisha (Jewish burial society) and if a spouse wishes to be buried in the adjacent plot, he or she must pay for the second plot.

An elderly neighbor died Tuesday night, in her home, in this moshav (collective agricultural village) of which she was a founding member.

She was a real pioneer in 1949, when this future lovely village was but a barren hill.

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From the Chevra Kadisha vehicle the covered body is brought by stretcher into the "beit hahesped." (In Hebrew this means, literally, the house of eulogy.)

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The name of the deceased and the time of the funeral is written in red on the digital sign above the beit hesped (funeral chapel).

I read that in busy times each funeral is given a half-hour slot.

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The funeral chapel is simple: one long bench with fold-up seats along the side wall for men and one along the opposite wall for women, a lectern, and a bier on which the stretcher is placed.

(The man on the bench, one of the Orthodox Jews who lead the funerals, was waiting for the mourners to arrive.)
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When it was time, the body was carried in, the son said the Kaddish prayer, and the collar of his shirt was torn as a sign of mourning.

The men of the family carried the stretcher back to the van, Kaddish was said again, and then the body was driven as close as possible to the grave site while we walked to the plot.

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More prayers, very moving actually.

Then the moment of truth when the body is laid in the grave. We in Israel do not bury our dead in a coffin. It is a very striking realization of the fact that from dust we came and to dust we shall return.

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The men who are willing and able take turns returning the loose earth into the open grave with a turia ( hoe).

A temporary sign with the deceased's name is stuck in the ground.

After the official part of the burial, each one comes close and puts a pebble on the fresh grave as a final goodbye.

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Yes, the founding generation of the moshavim and kibbutzim and of the State of Israel is passing on.

I thank them for their dedication, hard work, and idealism that gave us a home.

May they rest in peace; and may we, the living, also know peace.

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The danger in doing archaeology

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Faintly, in the twilight, on the far horizon, the Herodion is just visible.
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National Geographic describes it like this:
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"Eight miles south of Jerusalem, where the last stunted olive trees and stony cornfields fade into the naked badlands of the Judaean desert, a hill rises abruptly, a steep cone sliced off at the top like a small volcano. This is Herodium, one of the grand architectural creations of Herod the Great, King of Judaea, who raised a low knoll into a towering memorial of snowy stonework and surrounded it with pleasure palaces, splashing pools, and terraced gardens."
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Chief excavator of the site for decades and recent discoverer of Herod's tomb, Prof. Ehud Netzer left his beloved Herodion on Monday for the last time, in an ambulance.
A wooden railing on which he was leaning broke and he fell ten feet downward, hit, rolled, and fell another ten feet, breaking his skull and neck.
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Netzer, in his mid-70s, died yesterday and was buried this morning.
Israel suddenly lost an outstanding archaeologist.
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My sympathy to his shocked wife and family. We will all miss Ehud.
May he rest in peace after a life well lived, a country well served, and work well done.
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Latest news of the accident and burial: Jerusalem Post and Haaretz.
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National Geographic's story of King Herod and Ehud Netzer (note, however, that the first photo is Masada and not Herodion)
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If you are in the USA you can see National Geographic's "King Herod's Lost Tomb" on streaming Netflix.
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Photos of Herod's just recently exposed royal theater box
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Prof. Netzer's biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehud_Netzer
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Tiberias tombs, part II

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Thank you all for your comments and questions on yesterday's post. They are of great interest to me.
Today let's continue the subject and look at some of the things which caught my eye as I roamed the ancient Jewish cemetery of Tiberias.

My first time to see such memorial flames.
The oil + water probably can burn for a long time.

As a sign of respect, visitors put a stone on the tomb.

Also, mourners place a pebble on the earth that has been shoveled into the grave as they depart from a funeral.

This admor (great rabbi) must have LOTS of people who come to pay their respects.

If you click to enlarge the picture, you see little notes among the piled stones.

The black is from the many little tea lights lit in his memory.

Prayerbooks are available in a rain-proof book case.

A (very) few of the older graves had been given a coat of blue paint.

I assume this is the old Middle Eastern superstition that this shade of blue drives away "the evil eye."

In the huge cemetery this was the only place I saw with anything to sit on.

These names are not on graves but rather on a gal'ed, a memorial.

It speaks of the 19 "martyrs," largely women and children, who were stabbed and burned to death, some in the synagogue and some in their homes, when "raiding gangs of Arab rioters" infiltrated the Tiberias neighborhood of Kiryat Shmuel on October 2, 1938.

The 1936-1939 Arab revolt was a hard time for the Jewish residents of Palestine, then under the British Mandate; but the Tiberias massacre was especially shocking.

The words of the prayer are large and clear so that a group of mourners who has just buried their dead relative can recite it in public, together.

However difficult it is to understand why your loved one was taken away, the prayer Tziduk HaDin must be said, as a statement of our faith and trust in God's justice.

It speaks of God giving life to the dead.

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Judaism does not have dogmas, especially not about future things that we have no way of knowing for sure.

Some believe in resurrection and some do not.

This raised walkway over the graves must have been built recently to protect the sensibilities of the ultra-Orthodox. It separates the hundreds of mourners leaving the cemetery after a funeral into MAN [sic] and WOMEN.

After finishing our archaeology work in early afternoon (the dig was just south of the cemetery), I would often stop in the cemetery to roam about, all alone.

When the sun dropped behind the mountain, darkness fell quickly, reminding me it was time to return to the land of the living.

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Rest in peace

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how many of your children will we have to bury?? Two of the eight boys gunned down last night in the library of their yeshiva were laid to rest today here in the ancient cemetery on the Mount of Olives. Together with the blood-stained holy books they were studying. God comfort the mourners in Zion.

But still we say Shabbat shalom.