When a Jew Dies
Subtitle: The Ethnography of a Bereaved Son
Edition: 1 edition
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: May 30, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 271
ISBN-13: 9780520219656
Subjects: Customs; Death & Dying; Jewish studies; Social aspects; Judaism; Death, Grief, Bereavement; Religion - Judaism; Religious aspects; Religion; Judaism - Rituals & Practice; Social Science / Jewish Studies; Social Science; Christianity - Literature & the Arts; Ethnic Studies - General; Bereavement; Jewish mourning customs
Description: "Samuel Heilman's eloquent account of the traditional customs that are put into practice when a Jewish person dies provides both an informative anthropological perspective on Jewish rites of mourning and a moving chronicle of the loss of his own father. This unique narrative crosses and recrosses the boundary between the academic and the religious, the personal and the general, reflecting Heilman's changing roles as social scientist, bereaved son, and observant Jew.

Not only describing but explaining the cultural meaning behind Jewish practices and traditions, this extraordinary book shows what is particular and what is universal about Jewish experiences of death, bereavement, mourning, and their aftermath."--BOOK JACKET.