“I cannot grant forgiveness to the man who shot me for the murder of my 11 friends. But, strange as it may sound, I try my best to grant him forgiveness for having shot me.” — Daniel Leger, Pittsburgh survivor and Jewish burial fellowship leader
This past Sabbath marked the first yahrtzeit / anniversary by the Hebrew calendar of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. The sacred story of how Abraham and Sarah welcomed and accompanied wayfarers will be part of the ritual, as it was last year.
The Hebrew word levayah is usually understood as accompanying the dead — but it actually includes the full range of ways we are called to show up for each other throughout life's transitions. Now as in so many times past, accompanying each other and bearing witness are among the most healing and effective recourses available to us. LEARN MORE
“Grounding Ourselves”: WAYS OF PEACE returns to Earth Island Journal
November 8, 2019
Our most sustainable practices — those that quietly prevent the depletion of vital natural resources — are rarely headline-grabbing. Natural burial, like community composting, involves acceptance that the organic remains of the living are neither trash nor personal commodities. They belong to the earth.
Yet, even though human bodies have been continuously returned to the earth for millennia, the idea that our world will be overrun by cemeteries remains entrenched in popular consciousness. The experience of the United Kingdom — a tiny island nation that has long promoted cremation to save space — teaches otherwise. LEARN MORE