One person’s loss is a community’s loss: the psychological experience of Orthodox Jews in bereavement

Orthodox Judaism has highly structured beliefs and rituals regarding death, bereavement, and the afterlife and as such, with implications for the impact on the bereavement experience. A qualitative content analysis study was conducted to investigate the experience of 21 Orthodox Jewish participants who had suffered a loss of a close relative within the last five years. Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview that inquired about their experiences of death, the funeral, and the year of mourning. Analysis revealed several distinct categories that included rational and mystical continuing bonds, how Torah and rituals may give comfort and meaning, and how family and community helped or hurt the process of bereavement.