Funerals

“To Everything there is a season” (Ecclesiastes)

It is one of my greatest honors to work with you during this most tender time. Supporting you during the loss of a loved one, I walk with you anchored by the profound Jewish mourning and burial traditions and guided by our tender hearts. I support you to honor and grieve your beloved, return their body to the earth and soul back home, and support you and family during post-funeral shiva (‘mourning period’).

  • With traditional Jewish burial traditions as our foundation, I guide you to create the appropriate funeral that honors your beloved and supports the bereaved. I lead chapel and graveside services with Jewish prayer, music, and eulogy, while weaving your creative additions, such as poetry, song and slideshow.

  • Shiva: I can guide you in post-funeral mourning rites. For some families, simple coaching suffices, and for some I lead shiva ritual in your home. Shiva ritual can include traditional prayer services or other creative approaches to being with this potent time.

    Sacred Fire: I offer mourning rites around a sacred fire, an emergent approach to shiva that provides a powerful context for gathering community, grieving, and healing.

    To learn more about sacred fire as a powerful approach to shiva, read Rabbi Dan Goldblatt’s article “Experiencing shiva with a sacred fire.”

Testimonials

  • In my darkest hour, Zelig showed up for me, full of compassion and care. He helped make a very difficult moment in my life shine with honor and spirituality in ways I could have never imagined. At my wife’s memorial, He stepped into the void to help us craft the perfect memorial service that we did not know we needed. Everyone who attended left feeling lighter and even joyful in the midst of deep sadness. I repeatedly heard the reflection that Zelig’s presence made this possible. I cherish and will never forget how he showed up in my life when I needed it most.

    Aaron DeLis

  • He sensitively worked with our family to plan the funeral service while offering compassionate emotional support in our time of grief. He beautifully officiated the service with a grounded presence, providing meaningful interpretations, and finding a way to include us all across a wide spectrum of understanding. Rabbi Zelig gave a beautiful eulogy for my father based on a brief meeting with my father and his own extensive research. He led us in song with his beautiful voice and sweet guitar, elevating the spirit and helping our emotions to flow. Many who attended expressed how wonderful Rabbi Zelig was in officiating chapel service, procession, and graveside burial. After the funeral, Rabbi Zelig followed through with our family to offer precious support and guidance in the mourning journey. I am so grateful for his gifts in planning, ritual, and heart-felt companionship.

    Micah Van der Ryn

  • At the memorial for my father Rabbi Zelig was a remarkable leader, masterfully weaving the elements of tradition, loss, family, connection, and community. He was fully present, responsive and flexible as the day unfolded. It was a pleasure for all, from widely varying backgrounds, how Rabbi Zelig focused the community around my father’s life. Nothing he did felt remotely boilerplate or preconceived. He made a difficult day so special on many levels.

    Dan Goldfield

  • When my father was dying, Rabbi Zelig welcomed me into his temple of tradition, sat with dad, and compassionately helped us make meaning in the moment. After dad died, Zelig helped me craft and hold a 4-day sacred fire shiva in our backyard to support my fathers’ soul transition and our grief process. The sacred fire shiva was a profound way to honor dad and support our grieving. Reb Zelig’s support was invaluable. I am so grateful to have found my Rabbi.

    Willie Roberts