Re: wake for Jerry Williams

[Dan.Strassberg@att.net]

Shiva is the appropriate term but my understanding is that Shiva doesn't start 
until after the burial. It's a very humane custom. Friends visit the bereaved 
and try to cheer them up. It is customary to bring some sweets as a gift--the 
idea is to make sure that those in mourning don't forget to eat. Other parts of 
the tradition also make perfect sense to me; all of the mirrors in the house 
are supposed to be covered--apparently so the mourners won't see themselves 
when they look terrible from crying. In Orthodox homes, I believe that Shiva 
goes on for a week, but there are exceptions. For example, Shiva ends when Yom 
Kippur starts.

It would probably be good if someone more observant than I (which means almost 
anybody who is Jewish) wrote on this topic. I'm just about the last Jew in the 
world that one should think of consulting on matters of Jewish tradition.
--
dan.strassberg@att.net
617-558-4205
eFax 707-215-6367
 
> --- dan.strassberg@att.net wrote:
> > A WAKE? He was Jewish--unless he converted, which he
> > could have. His second 
> > wife wasn't Jewsih.
> 
> I knew he was Jewish, but I didn't know the proper
> term for "visiting hours"-- "sitting shiva"? The way
> it was described was "you can pay your respects to
> Jerry at..." I was taking the chance that the term
> "wake" may also be used by Jews, but I guess not...