18Forty Podcast22 Heinä 2025

Elissa Felder & Sonia Hoffman: How the Jewish Burial Society Cares for the Dead [Loss 2/3]

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to author Elissa Felder and her daughter Sonia Hoffman—both of whom have experienced the loss of a child and serve on a chevra kadisha—about what the Jewish burial society teaches us about confronting death. In this episode we discuss:

How does the process of purifying a dead body work—and how is it possible to purify a dead body at all?
What Kabbalistic practices are performed by chevra kadisha to bring dignity to the body and soul?
How can we “normalize” discussions about grief and death?

Tune in to hear a conversation about how care for the deceased is a “love story” between the Jewish People and God.

Interview begins at 15:31.

Elissa Felder started and actively manages Core’s community of practice for women who serve on a traditional chevrah kadisha. The knowledge she acquired through her work motivated her to write From One Life to the Next Life; The Sacred Passage after Death, a memoir about the loss of her baby son. She is the head of her local chevrah kadisha and speaks widely on this topic.

Sonia Hoffman is a Limmudei Kodesh teacher at Kohelet Yeshiva in Philadelphia. She is a daughter, mother, wife and member of the Bala Cynwyd community. She is also an active member of the Philadelphia Chevra Kadisha, having started during COVID to help with this mitzvah. After the loss of their daughter in 2016, she began speaking about her experience with loss and sharing resources with the community on ways in which we can move forward after tragedy. In addition, Sonia began hosting an annual event in her daughter's memory to bring awareness to the community around the topic of infant loss and relationship with God.

References:

Teshuvot HaRadbaz Volume 3, 985

Torat HaAdam, Introduction

“Passing Through” by David Bashevkin

Berakhot 10a

“Reconciling Opposites: Uncommon Connections in the Halakha of Mourning” by Emanuel Feldman

From One Life to the Next Life; The Sacred Passage after Death by Elissa Felder

The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief by Francis Weller

The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger

Consolation: The Spiritual Journey Beyond Grief by Maurice Lamm

Gesher Hachaim - The Bridge of Life by Rabbi Yechiel Michel Tucazinsky

Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner's Theology of Meaning by Alon Shalev

For more 18Forty:
NEWSLETTER: 18forty.org/join
CALL: (212) 582-1840
EMAIL: info@18forty.org
WEBSITE: 18forty.org
IG: @18forty
X: @18_fortyWhatsApp: join here

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(275)

Yabloner Rebbe: The Rebbe of Change (Teshuva Re-Release)

Check out our new series in partnership with SHARE, 18 Questions, 40 Jewish Mystics. In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, originally released in 2021, we talk to Rabbi Pini Dunner and Rav Moshe Wei...

30 Joulu 20251h 24min

Shais Taub: A Vulnerable Conversation About Shame, Selfhood, and Authenticity [Mysticism III 3/3]

Check out our new series in partnership with SHARE, 18 Questions, 40 Jewish Mystics. In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast—created in collaboration with Amudim—we speak with Shais Taub, the rabbi beh...

23 Joulu 20251h 19min

Philip Goff: Consciousness, Mysticism, and God [Mysticism III 2/3]

Check out our new series in partnership with SHARE, 18 Questions, 40 Jewish Mystics. In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Philip Goff—a philosophy professor who devotes much of his wo...

16 Joulu 20251h 25min

Alon Shalev: How Rav Hutner Found Existential Meaning [Mysticism III 1/3]

Check out our new series in partnership with SHARE, 18 Questions, 40 Jewish Mystics. In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Alon Shalev, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institut...

9 Joulu 20251h 48min

NEW: 18 Questions, 40 Mystics with Joey Rosenfeld

This podcast is in partnership with Rabbi Benji Levy and Share. Learn more at 40mystics.com.Rav Joey Rosenfeld’s entryway into mystical thought began with the writings of Franz Kafka and Albert Camus....

2 Joulu 20251h 30min

What To Do When Families Become Estranged [Re-Release]

This series is sponsored by Mira and Daniel Stokar, and this episode is sponsored by Dr. Leah Younger of Younger Psychology.In 2023, we talked to psychologist Dr. Joshua Coleman, about the nuances of ...

25 Marras 20251h 49min

AI & Halacha: On Transparency and Accountability [AI 4/4]

This series is sponsored by American Security Foundation.In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, Rabbi Gil Student speaks with Rabbi Aryeh Klapper and Sofer.ai CEO Zach Fish about how AI is reshaping ...

18 Marras 20251h 3min

Is AI the New Printing Press? [AI 3/4]

This series is sponsored by American Security Foundation.In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast—recorded at the 18Forty X ASFoundation AI Summit—we speak with Moshe Koppel, Malka Simkovich, and Tikvah...

11 Marras 20251h 34min