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8 | MAY 14 • 2020 

1942 - 2020

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Views

opinion
Chasidic Jews Need an Outlet
for Their Mourning 
After Chasidic funerals caused an uproar in New York, we need to pause and 
look at the importance of mourning in observant communities.
O

n Thursday, April 30, 
two days after New 
York City Mayor Bill de 
Blasio tweeted words that many 
denounced as anti-Semitic, 
the NYPD gave tickets out to 
men attending another funeral 
processional, and one Chasidic 
citizen was arrest-
ed for disorderly 
conduct. 
De Blasio’
s 
threatening 
tweets came after 
a large funeral 
for a Chasidic 
rabbi occurred 
in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on 
Tuesday, April 28. The commu-
nity had obtained permission 
and support from the local 
police precinct to host the funer-
al. It was a warning and an optic 
nightmare – no wonder commu-
nity members were upset at De 
Blasio’
s tweet. 
It would be easy and intellec-

tually lazy to write off the more 
insular Chasidic community 
as anti-science, honing in on a 
minority of anti-vaxxers or see-
ing images of the congregants 
standing less than 6 feet apart in 
Brooklyn streets. They are treat-
ed like outsiders and primitive 
people. One needs to watch only 
One of Us and Unorthodox to see 
the popular opinion of “those 
people.
” I have been sent pic-
tures of the funeral via Facebook 
message asking me to explain 
the behavior of attendees. The 
implicit phrase was about “you 
people.
” But it’
s not the truth.
Not far from Thursday’
s 
funeral in Borough Park, 
Brooklyn, sits my old pediatri-
cian’
s office. My parents have lost 
more than two dozen friends 
and relatives to the novel corona-
virus in the last month. Because 
of travel restrictions and social 
distancing, community members 
can’
t partake in ritual. The loss of 

each individual compounds, and 
there is a communal mourning. 
The largest Jewish community 
outside Israel is in New York, 
one of the epicenters of the epi-
demic. How does one find com-
fort in these times of mass loss? 
Everyday rituals provide 
comfort and solace. For some, 
it’
s their morning coffee routine 
with precise grinds to water 
ration. For others, it’
s the art of 
rolling a cigarette. Important 
ritualized aspects of traditional 
observant Jewish life provide 
guidance and comfort in 
so-called life cycle events – birth, 
marriage and eventually the end. 
For Chasidim, as well as many 
Orthodox Jews, a focus on rit-
ual is a focus on breath. It’
s an 
embodied practice. The most 
embodied practice is using one’
s 
body for something holy. Levaya, 
the Hebrew word for funeral, 
comes from the word for escort-
ing or accompanying. The most 

cathartic experience is physically 
following the departed. After the 
funeral service, before heading 
to the cemetery, people pass the 
dead and ask for forgiveness. 
Then the mourning pass the 
visitors and hear words of con-
solation.
It is commonplace to attend 
a funeral that is not one’
s own 
loved one, to honor the dead. 
This act of charity comes out 
of an obligation and a sense of 
community. The departed merit 
a respectful sendoff. It’
s often 
an act of kindness to a stranger, 
chesed shel emes, a good deed that 
will not be repaid. Other times, 
it’
s an act of communal support, 
as someone might attend the 
gravesite service of a member of 
their synagogue that they have 
never interacted with before.
There is a communal sad-
ness associated with death, and 
ritual provides comfort for the 
community. Funerals are heav-

Eli Reiter

continued on page 12

