1953-2007
THE CYBERSHUL

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This Week’s Torah Reading

TOLEDOT

Toledot — meaning "story," and the story in this parashah is good! After a difficult pregnancy, Rebekah gives birth to twins, Jacob and Esau. The two boys are quite different. The older one, Esau, sells his firstborn privileges and status for a bowl of lentil stew. Isaac’s family must move due to a famine. Nevertheless, wherever he goes, he is blessed with a rich harvest and tremendous wealth. Isaac, now older, ill and with his vision seriously impaired, blesses Jacob with the firstborn’s blessings leaving his older son, Esau, with a blessing of diminished worth. Esau is furious and plans to kill his brother. Jacob runs away. Esau marries, though his choice in mates distresses his parents.

A SHABBAT THOUGHT

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.

~~ Mark Twain ~~

WEB OF THE WEEK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEaZqu_xxOI

Ever wonder how to say Coney Island in Yiddish?
The above might give you a hint.

HELP OUR NIEGHBORS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Please make the check out to UJC Disaster Relief Fund and clearly mark Western Wildfire Relief on the bottom of the check. The check should be sent to:
United Jewish Communities
P.O. Box 30
Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113
Attention: Western Wildfire Relief

Or

Donate online at: www.ujc.org

Or

California Fire Relief Fund
c/o United Synagogue, Rapaport House, 155 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
Make checks payable to United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and write "California Fire Relief Fund" in the memo section

AURAL TORAH

INVESTMENT STRATEGY IN THE TORAH
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A JEW AT A WAKE

Dear CyberRav,

Hope all is well with you and the family... I was wondering about something that came up last week at work. I had to attend a wake and I paid my respects to the family without going over to the casket. Once back at work, a discussion ensued about whether Jews are permitted to view a dead body. More so, if it is permissible to have an open casket at a Jewish funeral, since a co-worker said when she was a child, her grandfather's casket was open. I googled the question and saw that on some Conservative sites it stated that it is against Jewish law to view a dead body. I know before the actual service, family members can ask to view the deceased. Hope you can clear this up for me.

Always Awake

THE ANSWER

Dear Always Awake,

Good to hear from you…

Viewing is prohibited in the Jewish tradition. An open casket at a Jewish funeral might happen, but when it does, it really is a violation of Jewish law. When a trusted member of the family is asked to check the body in the casket, that is not viewing. That is checking to make sure--and I know this sounds rather gruesome--that the body in the casket is indeed your loved one and not Mrs. Smith scheduled to be buried at 2:00 PM. As with any business, mistakes may happen at funeral chapels, and I think it is a good practice to make sure that one person from the family checks the body.

Having said all that, an open casket at a Christian ceremony should not be regarded as an offense or insensitive or weird. That's just how many Christians show their respect for the deceased. I understand that the wake is really for the mourners. Expressing condolences to the mourners without walking over to the casket would not be a faus pax or disrespectful. The open casket is used as a center for focusing on why we are there, but not so that everyone walks over to the casket.

May the future bring you more opportunities to attend semahot (happy occasions) than funerals.

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