Why the Wait?

Published on August 29, 2012

As bombs dropped over Germany, aerial photographer Arthur Oxenberg would lean out of a B-17 Flying Fortress with his camera to snap a photograph. His photos were a way the U.S. Army Air Forces could tell whether bombs hit their targets.

A Celebration of Dad

By Ellie Kahn
Published on August 29, 2012

I called my 94-year-old father in Ohio on July 9. I told him how much I loved him, that he was the most wonderful father ever, that I would miss him, and that it was OK for him to let go.

The Art of a Shiva Minyan

By Susan Esther Barnes
Published on August 8, 2012

Life and Death

By David Suissa
Published on June 20, 2012

For a man who runs a mortuary and memorial park that arranges about 1,500 funerals a year, Len Lawrence spends a lot of his time thinking about the living. In particular, he thinks about those who have suddenly lost a loved one and are caught completely unprepared for the many decisions that revolve around the ritual of burial.

The Holy Society -by Rabbi Hyim Shafner

By Rabbi Hyim Shafner
Published on March 9, 2012

A Secular Life Gone Bad

By Judy Bart Kancigor
Published on June 27, 2002

It's the ultimate fantasy: You have a seat at your own funeral. Now imagine that while hovering in limbo between your death and burial, you have the power not only to witness the preparations and critique the eulogies, but also to eavesdrop on critical moments in your past for a reality check.

There’s No Time Like the Present

By Ellie Kahn
Published on December 27, 2001

In my family, death and funerals seem to inspire joking. Maybe it's discomfort, but it also seems to be a lack of concern and heaviness about the whole thing. No one in my family does much visiting of graves, and burials are apparently not deemed necessary.