To Comfort the Bereaved

About this book

To Comfort the Bereaved is a halachic guide that contains all the traditions, customs, and prayers pertaining to the mitzvah of nichum aveilim, comforting mourners. The author clearly demonstrates how Jewish laws and customs address themselves to the various steps and stages of the mourning process. Rabbi Aaron Levine, who has established himself as a scholar and expert in the field of nichum aveilim, has assembled a highly practical guide that covers all aspects of appropriate behavior by a visitor to the shivah, the house of mourning. It guides the visitor through the traditions pertaining to the shivah home, explains what should or should not be said to the mourners, and records experiences and reactions of the mourners to the visitors. To Comfort the Bereaved takes the fear out of the prospect of visiting the shivah home and offers much encouragement in the performance of this great act of kindness. Rabbi Levine has amassed and distilled a wealth of stories, parables, anecdotes, and experiences of great sages, garnered from the wisdom of the Talmud, Midrash, and other relevant Jewish literature. He synthesizes scholarly research and personal experience, enabling him to write with rabbinic authority and wisdom in a compassionate, sensitive, and empathetic manner.