Chesed Shel Emet (, ; meaning "Charity of Truth" or "True Loving Kindness") is a Jewish voluntary organisation that is found in various forms around the world.

Canada

Chesed Shel Emet of Canada was established in 1930 as a non-profit organization with a mandate to prepare members of the Jewish community for burial according to Orthodox tradition. Each person is treated with the same consideration and respect. No one is refused service due to financial hardship. Chesed Shel Emet is an independent, community-based organization. Men and women are chosen and trained as volunteer members of the

chevra kadisha The term ''chevra kadisha'' () gained its modern sense of "burial society" in the nineteenth century. It is an organization of Jewish men and women who see to it that the bodies of deceased Jews are prepared for burial according to Jewish tra ...

(holy society). Their purpose is to dutifully and lovingly prepare the dead for burial.

United States

Chesed Shel Emet of New York was founded by Rabbi Mendel Rosenberg. The group provides numerous after-death services, including a ritually flawless Orthodox burial that incorporates a taharah (ritual purification),

tachrichim Tachrichim (Hebrew: תכריכים) are traditional simple white burial furnishings, usually made from 100% pure linen, in which the bodies of deceased Jews are dressed by the Chevra Kadisha, or other burial group, for interment after undergoing ...

(ritual graveclothes), and interment in a handmade coffin of soft wood. It negotiates with hospitals as necessary to remove lines and tubes from the deceased and obtain timely release of remains, and has successfully negotiated with courts of applicable venue and jurisdiction to halt halakhically forbidden autopsies. The group's services are sometimes required for more unusual needs, such as a tahara in Puerto Rico or chartering a private jet to transport a dead person from out of town. Their Accident Disaster Recovery Team, who worked together with

FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

in the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

in New Orleans, has cleaned hundreds of accident scenes, ensuring that all blood and any severed body parts are buried together with the person who died. To date, the New York organization has buried over 1200 m’sei mitzvah, i.e.: people who have no one else to bury them. Additionally, they operate a

Bikur Cholim ''Bikur cholim'' (; "visiting the sick"; also transliterated ''bikur holim'') refers to the mitzvah (Jewish religious commandment) to visit and extend aid to the sick. It is considered an aspect of ''gemilut chasadim'' (benevolence, selflessne ...

in several area hospitals and have a group of volunteers available to learn

mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

for the dead. Similar organizations exist across the US, for example in Boston, Los Angeles, St. Paul, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Seattle. They also exist in 17 countries.

References

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External links

Chesed Shel Emes - USAReb Meir Hersh Berger of Chesed Shel Emes shares incredible storiesChesed Shel Emes - Greater Washington DC area
Jewish charities Bereavement in Judaism Jewish organizations established in 1930

Canada

United States

See also

References

External links