We are on Facebook. It’s an open group (you have to ask to join the group in order to post articles and/or offer comments). It’s a growing group that is essentially a newsfeed that offers articles about current trends in Chevra Kadisha work, end-of-life issues, alternative approaches others take toward death and dying, all with a mostly Jewish lens. Anyone is free to post something they feel is interesting, worth discussing, odd or funny. If you already have a Facebook account, we are here:

During the Philadelphia conference, many people expressed a reluctance to join Facebook for fears of privacy or not really being interested in what someone had for lunch, etc. While these can real concerns, Facebook has a number of built-in privacy functions that protect your personal information and identity.

Kavod v’Nichum is on Twitter! (@chevra_kadisha) Much of what we’ve been doing has been answering people’s questions about Jewish funeral practices, clarifying misunderstood rituals and myths. We have been ramping up our content, pushing the upcoming Gamliel Institute courses, the KvN website, etc. Soon we’ll be using it as method of communicating information about upcoming training sessions and conferences. Follow us on Twitter.

Kavod v’Nichum has a Google Group (a modern version of a listserv). This is the place where people often post questions and comments specifically related to Chevra Kadisha work. People post and respond respond through either through email threads or visiting the group’s main page. This forum is where sensitive issues, Tahara problems, how different Jewish paths might respond to certain situations, etc. show up.

One great feature about our Google Group is that all current and previous discussions have been archived, so if you have a question, it’s pretty easy to see if it’s already been asked.

Find our group is located here.

Of course, the backbone of our social media presence has been our website, jewish-funerals.org. With over a million hits and counting, its the largest source of information on the web about all Jewish end-of-life . . .and free.

Kavod v’Nichum has a number of different online platforms we use to maintain and provide information about Jewish end-of-life issues, our work, Gamliel Institute courses, conference details, problem-solving discussions. In short, we’re online in many places and we’d like to make things even more accessible and available.

We’re placing this message on all our platforms to let you know about forums, pages, etc. you might not know about, but also it’s an invitation to visit and join them. Our goal is to create a larger and growing online community of groups and individuals involved in not only traditional Chevra Kadisha work but also other Jewish end-of-life pursuits (Bikur Cholim, hospice, palliative care, Shiva and Shloshim support).

An excellent lesson on how to open a Facebook account AND protect your identity, please watch this eight minute YouTube video.

We are working on a Pinterest (photo sharing) page that will be available as a resource for those who wish to find and use images for presentation, reports, etc. dealing with Jewish funerals, Chevra Kadisha, etc.

Stay tuned for further details about its location and how you can use and contribute.

Gamliel Institute continues to offer online courses as part of our certificate program in Chevra Kadisha. This year we’ll be holding another Taste of Gamliel. Our Fall-Winter 2013-14 course schedule in now online. Registration is open for Chevra Kadisha study, Tahara and Shmira plus Chevra Kadisha Education, Training and Leadership. These twelve week on-line courses present a groundbreaking opportunity to study and learn about our work. Classes begin September 24!

Click here to view course and registration details.

Stay in touch with our work, upcoming training sessions, conferences, Gamliel classes and other information about Kavod v’Nichum.

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