Light and Consolation

The development of Jewish Consolation Practices

by Shmuel Glick

Translated by Fern Seckbach (translation from Hebrew of the book אור וניחומים מאת שמואל גליק, אפרת 1993)

328 pp. hardcover, in English

The Ori Foundation; The Schocken Institute for Jewish Research of The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Jerusalem 2004.

ISBN 965-456-040-2

Light and Consolation deals with the nature and development of consolation customs in Jewish communities from biblical days to modern times. Jewish laws of comforting and mourning are a complex maze of customs based on Talmudic precedent or practices based on mystical background. While most Jewish books on death and mourning focus on the mourner, few adequately describe the role and behavior of the comforter. The present volume emphasizes that aspect. Tracing talmudic, legal and historical sources, Light and Consolation gives readers a comprehensive survey of Jewish practices for offering comfort and succor for mourners.

Professor Shmuel Glick is a director of The Schocken Institute for Jewish Research of The Jewish Theological Seminary in Jerusalem. He is teaching Rabbinic Literature and Jewish Education at the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies. Professor Glick has published the books (all in Hebrew): Or Le’Avel (A Light Unto the Mourner): The Development of Major Customs of Mourning in Jewish Tradition (1991); Or Ve-Nihumim (Light and Consolation): The Development of Jewish Customs of Consolation following Bereavement (1993); Or Nagah Aleihem (Light Has Dawned): The Relation Between Marriage and Mourning Customs in Jewish Tradition (1997, 2nd ed. 2020); Education in Light of Israeli Law and Halakhic Literature (2 vols.) (1999-2000); the new revised edition of Simcha Assaf’s classic, Mekorot le-Toldot ha-Hinukh be-Yisrael (A Source-Book for the History of Jewish Education) (6 vols.) (2002-2009); Kuntress Ha-Teshuvot He-hadash (A Bibliographic Thesaurus of Responsa Literature) (4 vols.) (2006-2010); Seride Teshuvot of the Ottoman Empire Sages from the Cairo Genizah Collection of the Cambridge University Library (3 vols.) (2013-2014); Seride Teshuvot of the Ottoman Empire Sages from the Cairo Genizah in the Elkan Nathan Adler Collection of the JTS Library (2 vols.) (2016); Hamudot Mitzrayim Vol. 1: Responsa of the Last Egyptian Sages from the Cairo Genizah (2018); Hamudot Mitzrayim Vol. 2: Responsa of Rabbi Moshe Yehuda Abas (Parts 1-2) (2021).