Rochel Berman is a social worker, educator and author who has been deeply involved in the work of the chevra kadisha for many years.  Her book, Dignity Beyond Death: The Jewish Preparation for Burial, is winner of a Koret International Jewish Book Award.  In the spring of 2014, Mrs. Berman partnered with KYHS to launch the Katz Yeshiva High School "The Final Journey: How Judaism Dignifies the Passage" program.  The centerpiece of the two-day course is the field trip to the Neshama Funeral Chapel.  Through interactive workshops students participate in a tahara, examine a Jewish casket, a set of tachrichim (shrouds) and receive guidance on how to make a "shiva" visit. Student reflections describe the experience as transformative – one which deepened their appreciation of Judaism and taught them “as much about living as about dying."

 

As a trailblazing endeavor, "The Final Journey: How Judaism Dignifies the Passage" has attracted national media attention with a major story in the New York Times.

 

Rochel Berman is a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, who has lived in New Haven, CT, Westchester County, NY and since 2002 has made her home in Boca Raton, Florida. She is the widow of George Berman z"l and the proud mother of two sons, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.