The Year of Mourning: A Jewish Journey, Co-Edited by Rabbi Lisa Grant, Ph.D.
HUC-JIR is pleased to announce a new publication by Rabbi Lisa Grant, Ph.D., Director of the New York Rabbinical Program and Eleanor Sinsheimer Distinguished Service Professor in Jewish Education. The materials in the book are also available as an app, which includes recordings of all the music compiled by Rabbi Grant’s consulting editor, Cantor Lisa B. Segal.
The Jewish mourning process is a voyage through pain, brokenness, comfort, resilience, acceptance, and even gratitude. The Year of Mourning: A Jewish Journey offers an expansive array of resources—stories, songs, study texts, poetry, and prayers—to lovingly and patiently guide the bereaved through their process of mourning. The materials are organized around seven themes, each containing seven units. Mourners are invited to explore the themes at materials at their own pace and time. The book also includes new rituals for shivah, sh’loshim, unveiling, and yahrzeit. The Year of Mourning helps support individuals to regain their grounding after loss and, through the richness of Jewish tradition, to deepen their connections to memories of loved ones and to others in the community who are walking a similar path.
Rabbi Grant shares: “The project grew out of a personal need. Around the time my mother died, several other people in my synagogue community also experienced the death of someone dear to them. This prompted me to start a kaddish club to provide some extra support during this time of vulnerability and grief. We met monthly, studying, singing, and telling stories, concluding each session with the mourner’s kaddish. What I saw in these mourners was a need to be in a safe space to commune with their grief and explore how Jewish wisdom and practice might support them as they mourn. The motivation, stories, and curiosity of these mourners inspired me as I began to shape the journey offered through this project.”
The Year of Mourning: A Jewish Journey was published by CCAR Press, copyright 2023. You may purchase a copy through the publisher.