Chesed To The Dead and Comfort To The Mourners Printed with permission from "The Chesed Boomerang" by Jack Doueck www.judaicapress.com The Torah (Deut. 21:22) commands us: "You shall surely bury him." Jewish tradition urges people to attend funerals. It is an act of chesed that expects no reciprocity — a "chesed shel emet" — the purest and truest kind of chesed. The eulogy is considered an honor to the dead. Even though it is to help and direct the living (as is the Kaddish), it is still considered chesed for the deceased. Jewish tradition praises people who are sensitive to the feelings of others. It praises us when we love other people and treat them as we would like to be treated. The Talmud exclaims (Mo-ed Katan 25a): "Whoever sheds tears for a good man (having died) obtains forgiveness for all his sins." Another Talmudic dictum (Shabbat 105b) tells us: "If one sheds tears for a good man, God counts them and lays them up in his treasure house." Every tear, then, is important in the eyes of God, as we learn in Psalms (34:19): "God is near to them that are of a broken heart". Return to 'Our Tradition' Menu