The Last Bridge

Bridges span the currents of Jewish life.

Bridges…

…between day and night.

…between kodesh and chol.

…between tamei and tahor.

But there’s one bridge that no Jew should cross alone.

The bridge between Life and Death, This World and the Next.

On that last bridge, stand the Chevra Kaddisha.

Three women share how they began doing the holy work of the Chevra Kaddisha, its impact on their lives, and the awesome privilege of participating in the ultimate chesed

One Step Closer

Mrs. Deena Abraham

Chevra Kaddisha of South Bend, Indiana,  27 plus years

The beginning of the year was the beginning of my journey.

I was in my twenties, married with a few little children, and life was filled with the typical chaos you’d expect in a young Jewish family. Months raced by, and I struggled to keep up — until Elul. A rare moment of peace revealed one troubling thought: What had I accomplished this past year? I was the same as the year before, and it was discouraging. I wanted something to add meaning to my hectic days. Hashem gave me the idea to take on something new, not a chumra or a mitzvah I was already doing, but something transformative. But what?

Not long after Succos, I was having my wisdom teeth out, so we stayed at my parents for Shabbos. While I endured surgery, my mother took my son to school. A nonreligious woman dropping off her kids told my mother that her grandmother had just passed away. The taharah needed to be arranged.

“I can’t get enough women to do a taharah,” my mother said when she returned. “I need to go. I feel bad, but can you cook for Shabbos?”