Useful links
IKAR's Mourning Guide
Download IKAR's Mourning Guide
Virtual Morning Minyan
Join us virtually at 8am PT Monday-Friday and Sunday for a half-hour minyan, ending with Mourners Kaddish.
Our House Grief Support Center
Watching someone you care about go through the early weeks, months, and even years of grief can engender feelings of helplessness in all of us. There are so many times that you wish you could take away their pain and to be able to “do something” to ease their journey. You may even find yourself feeling that they “should” be behaving or reacting differently. Please understand that grief is a process that involves a lot of time, energy, and emotion.
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The Compassionate Friends of Los Angeles
Providing Grief Support After the Death of a Child: When a child dies, at any age, the family suffers intense pain and may feel hopeless and isolated.
The Compassionate Friends is committed to helping every bereaved parent, sibling, or grandparent who may walk through our doors or contact us.
Our meetings are led by other bereaved parents and are free of charge.
Visit website
The Compassionate Friends is committed to helping every bereaved parent, sibling, or grandparent who may walk through our doors or contact us.
Our meetings are led by other bereaved parents and are free of charge.
Selah Care Farm: Animal Grief Therapy for Bereaved Families
Located minutes outside Sedona, Arizona, the Selah Carefarm is a collective of restorative spaces within a eco-based, therapeutic community where grieving individuals, families, and groups can go to give and receive connection and compassion. All of the animals (usually around 50 including horses, pigs, cows, alpacas, cats, dogs, goats, donkeys, sheep…) on the carefarm have been rescued from abuse, neglect, homelessness, and torture. Our grieving families know what it means to suffer, and so do these animals. In addition, clients can choose to participate in group where we offer mediation or yoga, art therapy, bibliotherapy, traumatic grief counseling, and residential facilities all at beautiful Andy’s Sanctuary. We base our work on ahimsa- or henosis- compassion for all, including animals and the earth. Thus, we are vegan and sustainable. We have a “rescue don’t reproduce” policy here so we can help as many animals as possible. Visit our Facebook page to “Like” and learn about what we do and who we help! If you’d like to schedule a therapeutic visit or counseling at Selah Carefarm, please do so here. Read some of our research visit here.
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Mourning & Mitzvah, 2nd Ed.
by Rabbi Anne Brener
For those who mourn a death, for those who would help them and for those who face a loss of any kind, Mourning & Mitzvah teaches you the power and strength available to you in the fully experienced mourning process.
When the temple stood in the ancient city of Jerusalem, mourners walked through the gates and into the courtyard along a specifically designated mourner’s path.
As they walked, they came face to face with all the other members of the community, who greeted them with the ancestor of the blessing, “May God comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.” In this way, the community embraced those suffering bereavement, yet allowed for unique experiences of grief.
In this new and expanded edition of a modern classic, Anne Brener brings us an innovative integration of Jewish tradition and modern professional resources. It gives spiritual insight and healing wisdom to those in our own time who mourn a death, to those who would help them and to those who face a loss of any kind.
Learn more
When the temple stood in the ancient city of Jerusalem, mourners walked through the gates and into the courtyard along a specifically designated mourner’s path.
As they walked, they came face to face with all the other members of the community, who greeted them with the ancestor of the blessing, “May God comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.” In this way, the community embraced those suffering bereavement, yet allowed for unique experiences of grief.
In this new and expanded edition of a modern classic, Anne Brener brings us an innovative integration of Jewish tradition and modern professional resources. It gives spiritual insight and healing wisdom to those in our own time who mourn a death, to those who would help them and to those who face a loss of any kind.
A Time to Mourn, A Time to Comfort
by Ron Wolfson
A Step-by-Step Guide for Honoring the Dead and Empowering the Living
When someone dies, there are so many questions—from what to do in the moment of grief, to dealing with the practical details of the funeral, to spiritual concerns about the meaning of life and death. This indispensable guide to Jewish mourning and comfort provides traditional and modern insights into every aspect of loss. In a new, easy-to-use format, this classic resource is full of wise advice to help you cope with death and comfort others when they are bereaved.
Dr. Ron Wolfson takes you step by step through the mourning process, including the specifics of funeral preparations, preparing the home and family to sit shiva, and visiting the grave. Special sections deal with helping young children grieve, mourning the death of an infant or child, and more.
Wolfson captures the poignant stories of people in all stages of grieving—children, spouses, parents, rabbis, friends, non-Jews—and provides new strategies for reinvigorating and transforming the Jewish ways we mourn, grieve, remember, and carry on with our lives after the death of a loved one.
Learn more
When someone dies, there are so many questions—from what to do in the moment of grief, to dealing with the practical details of the funeral, to spiritual concerns about the meaning of life and death. This indispensable guide to Jewish mourning and comfort provides traditional and modern insights into every aspect of loss. In a new, easy-to-use format, this classic resource is full of wise advice to help you cope with death and comfort others when they are bereaved.
Dr. Ron Wolfson takes you step by step through the mourning process, including the specifics of funeral preparations, preparing the home and family to sit shiva, and visiting the grave. Special sections deal with helping young children grieve, mourning the death of an infant or child, and more.
Wolfson captures the poignant stories of people in all stages of grieving—children, spouses, parents, rabbis, friends, non-Jews—and provides new strategies for reinvigorating and transforming the Jewish ways we mourn, grieve, remember, and carry on with our lives after the death of a loved one.