Rabbi Robert Freedman of Gratz College will speak at the Feb. 13 zayin Adar dinner.
January 08, 2008
In traditional Jewish communities, the seventh day of the month of Adar (zayin Adar) is a day to honor members of the hevra kadisha, or local burial society. Taking their cue from the customary date of the birth and death of Moses, the societies hold a feast to remember the deceased and the contributions of those who respectfully laid them to rest.
For the first time, the Mercer Community Women’s Chevra Kadisha will host a zayin Adar dinner, gathering in East Windsor on Wednesday, Feb. 13. The intent is to honor the tradition and the reinvigoration of the society itself, which was originally established at The Jewish Center in the early 1990s.
“We picked up the pace and brought new life to it about five years ago,” said Laurie Dinerstein-Kurs, who oversees the women’s hevra kadisha. “Now that the group is a little more fortified, we’re trying to do what’s common to hevra kadishas, and since a zayin Adar dinner is a worldwide thing for hevra kadishas, we thought we should start doing it, too.”
The dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Beth El Synagogue in East Windsor.
The guest speaker will be Rabbi Robert Freedman of Princeton, adjunct professor of Jewish studies at Gratz College in Melrose Park, Pa., and former cantor of The Jewish Center. He will view the practice of tahara, the ritual washing and purification of the body, through the prism of the four worlds of mystical Judaism.
The Mercer Community Chevra Kadisha, the associated men’s group, will also participate, said Dinerstein-Kurs, who also serves as the region’s Jewish community chaplain under the auspices of the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County.
The dinner is open to members of any hevra kadisha in the region, she added. “While this particular event is something for hevra members,” she said, “we do want people to know we exist, so if anyone is interested in joining us, they know we’re here.”
For information about becoming a member of the local hevra kadisha, call Dinerstein-Kurs at 609-443-1844.