Page 2 - Prayers and Readings for the Unveiling Ceremony and Family Visits

THE UNVEILING CEREMONY

Our pain is the measure of our blessing. What
we have lost is a reflection of how we have
loved. They return to us, our beloved, in flashes
of memory, in moments of sweet, anguished
recollection. We remember the smile and grieve
that it is gone. We will never again touch the hand
that guided us or sought us out. Still, would we
wish never to have known that hand, never to have
seen that smile? God has given. God has taken
away. Our pain is the measure of our blessing.

— Rabbi David Wolpe
Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple

The unveiling ceremony gathers us together at the
gravesite to recall what is immortal and lasting in
this life. We can talk about our loved one with a
different spirit than the painful words of eulogy.
We may talk of what we miss most in our loved
one’s life. We may celebrate what was triumphant
and unique in this life. We may laugh at their
humor, feel the warmth of their love, bring close
their wisdom, recall the moments we most cherish,
and cry at the loss.

— Rabbi Edward Feinstein
Senior Rabbi, Valley Beth Shalom