About the Final Journey

The Final Journey: How Judaism Dignifies the Passage is a curriculum that explores Jewish death rituals. Developed and tested at the KYHS, Boca Raton, it is designed to teach Jewish high school students in all streams of Judaism about the elegant path along which the Jewish deceased are taken in their final journey prior to burial.

The content of the 8-session course centers about the role of the Chevra Kadisha, the Jewish Burial Society. As advocates for the deceased, they wash, purify and dress the body, thereby illuminating the humanity and ultimate dignity of the tahara ritual.

In the spring of 2014, a partnership was formed between Rabbi Jonathan Kroll, Head of School, Katz Yeshiva High School of South Florida and Rochel Berman, author of Dignity Beyond Death: The Jewish Preparation for Burial. Both Rabbi Kroll and Mrs. Berman had for many years served as members of the Chevra Kadisha in Westchester County, NY.

They share a strong commitment to the development and dissemination of a curriculum that provides students with knowledge, understanding and an appreciation of this aspect of the lifecycle. Mrs. Berman, who has extensive Jewish communal and communications experience, serves as the Project Director.

From the outset, it was our intent to create a model that could be replicated in Jewish high schools throughout the English-speaking world.  The model includes a comprehensive Study Guide and a video for each lesson.