ANNOTATION

"An essential book for libraries."--Library Journal.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

For over thirty years Jews have turned to Rabbi Maurice Lamm's classic work for direction and consolation. Selected by The New York Times as one of the ten best religious books of the year when it was first published in 1969, The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning leads the family and friends of the deceased through the most difficult chapter of life—from the moment of death through the funeral service, the burial, and the various periods of mourning.

Now, in this thoroughly revised and expanded edition, Rabbi Lamm explores a wide range of new issues and questions that Jews of the twenty-first century must address. Special consideration is given to the subjects of organ donation, autopsy, the question of a woman's right to say Kaddish, mourning practices as they relate to the stillborn, the permissibility of converts to Judaism to mourn their Gentile parents, and the bereavement rights of individuals who by Jewish law are not required to mourn but who nonetheless wish to express their grief in accordance with Jewish tradition.

In addition to exploring the sensitive issues that the contemporary mourner must confront, The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning is remarkable in that it gently leads the mourner through the corridors of Jewish law and teaches the aching heart how to express its pain in love and respect so that it might begin on the road to eventual healing.

About the Authors: Rabbi Maurice Lamm is the author of five major books, President of the National Institute for Jewish Hospice, and Professor at RIETS at Yeshiva University's Rabbinical Seminary in New York, where he holds the Chair in Professional Rabbinics. He was the rabbi of one of the largest Orthodox synagogues in the United States, Beth Jacob of Beverly Hills.

Rabbi Lamm's newest publications are The Power of Hope and a CD-ROM entitled Love and Marriag. He is most popularly known for his The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning, first issued in 1969 and considered one of the best Jewish books of the year by The New York Time. Rabbi Lamm has also authored The Jewish Way in Love and Marriage, Becoming a Jew, and Living Torah in America.

Maurice Lamm was awarded an honorary doctorate by Yeshiva University, from which he holds a B. A., M. A., and rabbinic ordination. He has served on the faculty of Stern College for Women, was field director of Military Chaplains, and traveled for the U. S. Department of Defense with the civilian equivalent of Major General. His chaplaincy duties took him around the world. One of his most important contributions has been the creation of the National Institute for Jewish Hospice.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

That a book on death should today be a Jewish best-seller of all times testifies to the pre-eminence of rites connected with death among the most widely kept Jewish observances—from Kaddish, to Yizkor, and alas today to Holocaust commemoration. Rabbi Lamm's book is distinguished by its readability and its comprehensive treatment of all related subjects, including brain death and autopsies. The book will be read with wide interest and provide a gateway to an important rubric of Jewish thought and philosophy.—(Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, former Chief Rabbi, British Empire) — Immanuel Jakobovits