Next stop, next world

When you begin to read a book of essays about Jewish death and dying, the last thing you’d expect to see is one entitled, “The Joy of Burying my Mother-In-Law.” This is a serious tome, after all, not a comedy routine.

“From This World to The Next, Amazing True Stories about Jewish Burial and The Afterlife,” is a new book that hopes to overcome skepticism regarding the Next World and why it’s important to prepare to enter it with the proper respect and rituals, just as one would ordinarily prepare for a long-awaited journey.

The book, edited by Rosally Saltsman and Robin Meyerson, contains 40 first-person stories that show us that death is not the end — a loving son receives a text message from his departed father; an Israeli woman grieving the loss of her son in combat longs for a message and receives it in the form of a hug by a baby bearing his name; a son refuses to give his elderly mother a Jewish burial only to discover that she took care of the burial arrangements herself from The Next World; a daughter is comforted in a dream by a visit from her father (only was it really only a dream?); a man survives a fall crushing his skull and not only lives to tell about it, but relates what happened when he was clinically dead; a man gives a woman a large check to help pay off her debt and the check clearly bears his signature (the only glitch is that he died many years earlier); a daughter-in-law —Five Towns resident Henya Storch, founder of the Storch Agency International, whose family sponsored the printing of the Storch edition — has “joy” in burying her mother-in-law (spoiler alert: a cremation is avoided).

A cemetery in Hebrew has three names: Beit Kevarot (a house of graves), Beit Chaim (a house of the living) and Beit Almin (a house of worlds). Although a cemetery is indeed a place of graves, it is also a place where people journey from this world to the next, with people living on in another world after their death.

That’s why Judaism puts such emphasis on respect and dignity for the dead through burial, mourning practices, recitation of Kaddish, and doing mitzvoth in the deceased’s memory.

According to co-editor Meyerson, “I wanted to create this book because there are so many Jews who either do not know, or do not believe, that the souls of our departed loved ones live on in what’s referred to as the World of Truth. This collection of true stories shows that there is another world.”

The recent spate of anti-Semitic violence resulting in the desecration of Jewish cemeteries in America shows that anti-Semites know how much we value the memory of our deceased and how we accord them the highest honor. And they, our departed loved ones, continue to watch over and even occasionally communicate with us from their place in Heaven.

From This World to the Next provides illumination into the Jewish afterlife, and the reality of the soul living eternally in the next world, as well as our obligations to accord respect to the human body, the vessel of our eternal souls. Its stories are soulful, spiritually uplifting and death-defying in many ways.

Printed books are free to synagogues, outreach organizations, chaplains, and funeral homes to share; they can also be ordered through the National Association of Chevra Kadisha at 718-849-9700. Revenues from book sales will assist indigent burials and for educational materials on the importance of burial versus cremation.

Free download: bit.ly/2o67chA