Hespedim and Covid19

When I started developing the idea of an online treasury of hespedim(eulogies) I could not have imagined the pandemic we would all now be facing . After some weeks of increasing concern, advice from experts and projections about how the coronavirus would hit the UK population, the Prime Minister announced a state of national emergency. He imposed necessary stringent measures to minimise the stress on our National Health Service and the loss of lives.

The instruction to stay at home and for members of different households not to meet has drastically affected our normal way of life, and our Jewish customs around death, funerals and shivas. The wider community is not able to gather to show respect for the dead, support the bereaved, offer a consoling hug or hear the eulogies.

Hesped.org is a place where these eulogies can be shared.

From a safe distance, we can still learn the stories of people’s lives and honour the memories of loved ones who have died.