Rabbi Mark Strauss-Cohn and Father Steve Rice
Thursday, January 21st, 2016
Every third
Thursday, Father Steve Rice and Rabbi Mark Strauss-Cohn get together to discuss
various topics at Finnegan's Wake, in Winston Salem, NC. I wasn't sure what to
expect when I first heard of this event, but to my surprise, I had a great
time! They were quite humorous. Even under the disheartening circumstances,
Rabbi Mark's Father passed away 14 days before this event, they still had fun
on stage and interacted with the audience. His strength was very admirable.
Before they
began I scanned the room to see the demographics of the audience. There were
Caucasian men and woman ages 30+. I would guess that they attended the church
or synagogue. There were no children or other races, except Shabaza Vaird
(African American) and myself (half Hispanic origin).
The topic
was on Death: Traditions and Rituals. Since I am a Christian and believe in
Jesus as my Savior, I had similar beliefs of Father Steve. Rabbi Mark had very
different traditions and rituals.
Rabbi Mark got the attention of the
audience exactly how a teacher would get the attention of her students. “If you
could hear me, clap once. If you could hear me, clap twice.” That tickled me
pink! When all attention was on Rabbi Mark, he opened up with a joke. It went
something like this; a priest and a rabbi got into a very bad car accident.
They came out with a few bumps and scratches but both vehicles were totaled.
The Rabbi saw the collar of the priest and said, “I think this is a miracle
from God that we become friends and live in peace together.” When the Rabbi
looked in the back seat he saw that his bottle of wine didn’t smash in the
accident. He took the bottle out and told the Priest that the bottle of wine
didn’t break in the accident and that it was another sign from God to celebrate
the miracle that they were okay. So the Priest drank some of the wine and
passed it back to the Rabbi. But the Rabbi just put the cap back on and handed
it back to the Priest. The Priest asked him if he was going to have any. The
Rabbi replied, “No I think I’ll just wait for the police.” That was a very
funny joke! What made it more humorous was that it was very unexpected. The
Rabbi started off with a joke because he mentioned that his dad loves to joke
and he wanted to honor his father. He also informed the audience that his
father died two weeks prior, so they wanted to discuss death between the two
religions.
He began by speaking about mourning
and the rituals and traditions of the Jewish people. They begin by staying with
the body to recite prayers. They try to do it before the person dies, but
sometimes it doesn’t work that way. If the person dies unexpectedly, the Rabbi
says the prayer for them. They say what Jacob said, from the Torah. “Blessed is
God’s glory and majesty forever and ever.” Next, the family gathers for
confession and asks for forgiveness, as well as, make sure they are in good
terms with everyone.
The burial rituals include burying
the body the second or third day after death. In Israel, the body is buried
within 24 hours. They then light a candle to remember that soul is
immortal. Another ritual is the washing of the body. It signifies spiritual purity.
It's a big honor to do this and is usually done by immediate family members.
They also dress they body in shrouds. Simple linen garments with no pockets.
They begin to cut the fringes they are no longer bound to the commandments. A
guardian is to stay with the body at all times. They are responsible for the
body to make sure nothing happens to it. The body is then placed in a simple
wooden casket, also known as a kosher casket, which contains no metal, just
wood. This signifies that we came from dust and dies in dust, as natural as
possible. It’s very common to be buried underground. They do have the option to
be born in a Mausoleum. The person should state how they would like to be
buried, and the family will honor that. Jewish traditions do not allow
cremation. The body has to remain as whole as possible. Rabbi Mark mentioned
that if a bomb exploded and body parts flew everywhere, the family would try to
find as many limbs as possible to keep as much of the body together. But they
do allow them to be organ donors because it keeps life going. After the funeral
they tear a garment to show that the soul has been torn from them. When people
see the torn garment they know they are in mourning. After burial you eat a
meal, which includes an egg. This is to remind them of life and that things are
renewed.
Rabbi Mark gave four numbers they
follow when someone in the family dies, 7, 30, 11, 1. The first seven days are
the most intense for mourning. There is no bathing, greeting people or reading
the Torah. They just focus on grieving.
After you get out and take a walk.
You start to slowly get back into life but still focus on grieving for the next
thirty days. After eleven months, they stop saying the prayer that Jacob spoke
before he dies. After a year, they say the prayer once more and celebrate
special Jewish days. It was unclear as to what they were called because I
couldn’t understand him.
Lastly, the Rabbi mentioned that
they have to repair or perfect the world so that the Messiah will want to come
back to earth. They also believe if some one said the messiah is coming and
you're planting a tree, finish planting the tree. The messiah will be pleased
with you loving and taking care of the earth.
Overall,
this experience was very interesting. I would like to continue to attend future
events just for fun. I didn’t realize there was such a big difference between
the two religions. The Jewish rituals and traditions must be followed to honor
God and the family. Christians have a few more choices when it comes to burying
the body. One can choose to be cremated or buried. It doesn’t affect going to
heaven. We believe the Messiah has already came to earth so when we die we will
be raised up into heaven. The Jewish are still waiting for the Messiah so they
wait in the ground until He comes back to earth.
