Chevra kadisha

No, he was born already

B'Kadusha.

He was born already B'Kadusha.

You're asking some in Geras.

When you're Megiah, if parents are Megiah and they have a young child, then when he becomes a Godel, he has to re-accept, right? But that...

He was a miser in the town.

And when he died, the Hebra Kadisha refused to bury him.

He says, this guy's a skinflint, never helped a

person in his life.

He was a miser in the town.

And when he died, the Hebra Kadisha refused to bury him.

He says, this guy's a skinflint, never helped a

person in his life.

He's born in the white pale of Russia, Roshnei HaZalman of Russia.

And he's appointed to the Hebra Kadisha at a very young age.

In those days, being appointed to the Hebra Kadisha, or as a Dayan in town, doesn't just mean you're there to help out, but this was a status symbol.

It was at the age of 12 or something, he was appointed to either the Hebra Kadisha, or to, not a Dayan, the Hebra Kadisha, but that was a status symbol.

Anyway, so he is the founder of Lubavitch Hasidus.

Keep in mind, Lubavitch Hasidus takes root in Russia.

We're talking about 25, 26 years later, at least 27 years later, they came to find the body.

According to the Kaddish people, they went, they take out the body, take out the thing, and you know, in Israel, the way they bury, they don't do coffins.

In Israel, they do straight.

It's fine.

I've kind of been seeing how it influences more parts of who I am than I thought.

I also joined the new community Chevra Kadisha in Pittsburgh, which is, like, our community-based burial society where we clean and ritually wash and dress dead Jewish people before they're buried.

There are a lot of folks who joined after the shooting and because of the shooting.

Yeah, I mean, I'm definitely not the only person who kind of has intensified their commitment to Jewish life.

And then, yeah, and then the logistics all start because, again, they never seen frum people.

There's no Chevra Kadisha, so they want to move him.

But we're trying to figure out what Chevra Kadisha's gonna be here and all these things while being in my daughter's room.

So I had to keep going out of the room so I could talk about it.

Wouldn't talk about that in front of her.

And I think so much about what October seventh means to us, and I think it means a whole lot to different people, and you have different images in your mind that, that you think of when you consider all of the atrocities.

But what made one of the greatest impressions on me is hearing from the members of the Chevra Kadisha.

And over the years, I've brought them here to our shul because I felt everyone should hear from them.

To hear from the members of the Chevra Kadisha, and to hear the dignity that they afford to every single Jewish neshamah, to every Jew.

And they did not differentiate between the ones who had tattoos and the ones who were clearly not shomer Shabbos and the ones who didn't keep kosher.

Everybody got the same treatment, and everyone is respected.

Oy mibnei she'ani kover samayisim, because I'm a gravedigger.

[laughs] I work for the Chevra Kadisha.

So I knew a nazir is not to drink wine, or I knew a nazir is not to become tamei.

But I thought the rabbis would give me a dispensation either because I'm a bartender or because I'm a gravedigger.