Tahara Manuals

Title	Author	Chevra Kadisha	Date Published	Notes
Tahara Manual of Practices	Rabbi Mosha Epstein	Bridgeport, CT	3rd Ed, 2005
Handbook for Hevra Kadisha Members	Lynn Greenhough		2008	This is not a manual laying out the tahara liturgy. Rather it is a compilation of practices.
Tahara Guide		Kehilath Jeshurun New York, NY
Taharah Manual	Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips	Park Slope Jewish Center Hevra Kadisha Brooklyn, NY	September 2009 - 2nd Edition revises the December 2005 first edition	Elegant layout; includes diagrams for knot tying; suggested niggunim to accompany each part of the process; de-briefing; end-notes.
	From Rabbi Regina: This week's Torah portion of Hayyei Sarah ("The Life of Sarah") has traditionally served to focus attention on the importance of burying the dead and consoling the bereaved. As we read of how the widowed patriarch Abraham struggled with complicated financial negotiations and other last-minute arrangements for his wife Sarah's funeral, we can learn how to meet the contemporary challenges of preparing for what we still would rather not think about in advance. A recent New York Times opinion piece underscores the spiritual significance of these issues across cultures. With all this in mind, I am pleased to announce the online publication of our sacred burial fellowship Taharah Manual in its second (September 2009) edition. Taharah ("Purification") refers both to the entire Jewish process of caring for the dead and to the central ritual of that process. Our Manual was compiled on the basis of a comparative study of 10 contemporary taharah guides from throughout the U.S. and across the denominations, and also incorporates material from the classic 17th century text Ma'avar Yabbok and other historical sources. In the four years since our Manual was first published online, it has helped to guide sacred burial fellowship development in communities from New Jersey to New Zealand. The new edition features updated notes and a revised, multicultural selection of accessible songs and chants to accompany the process--from vigil-keeping through washing, purifying, dressing, and laying out the dead. As Thomas G. Long concludes in the recent New York Times article, "People who have learned how to care tenderly for the bodies of the dead are almost surely people who also know how to show mercy to the bodies of the living." Those who would like to organize an interactive study program on the basis of our Manual in their home communities may contact me at the e-mail address below. Rabbi Regina L. Sandler-Phillips, MSW, MPH waysofpeace@earthlink.net
Guidelines for Performing Tahara	Rick Light	Chevra Kadisha of Northern New Mexico Los Alamos, NM	May-05	For an additional file containing a copy of the title page click here. This is to enable printing for use during the Tahara. Print the title page on card stock, laminate it, and then spiral bind the document.
Guide to Taharah Practices - Men		Ohr Kodesh Funeral Practices Committee Chevy Chase, MD	5763
Guide to Taharah Practices - Women		Ohr Kodesh Funeral Practices Committee Chevy Chase, MD	5764
Reconstructionist Tahara Handbook for Women and Men		Adat Shalom Chevra Kadisha	2005
Tahara Demo