Several years ago, in one of my first ventures into the world of online writing, my friend Jackie Lieberman and I collaborated on a post about making shiva call.

Shiva is the period of mourning after a funeral, a time when friends and community members comfort the mourners.

While many of us want to be there for friends and loved ones, we often just aren’t sure what to do. So often we think that our job is to “fix” things; to make them better. Shiva is a powerful reminder that so often the most important thing we can do is to be there for one another.

Fortunately, paying a shiva call is a skill that can be learned. Jackie recently shared with me that our post has continued to be of help to many folks who are searching for Jewish ways to comfort friends and community members.

I don’t think I could say it much better than we did back then, so please see here for our list of shiva FAQs.