Happy Birthday Chava

There's nothing like a good old fashioned birthday fabregen (chasidic party).  It means women sitting around a table full of food, giving each other blessings and sipping red wine.  Before long, we're all getting heated up about one thing or another.

This time, the topic was cremation.  Every single one of us had a relative or friend who was cremated.  Jews are not permitted to cremate themselves or relatives, and before long, we were all worked up.  It's not just the cremation, but the price of burial.  People choose cremation when they can't afford to be buried, which can cost upwards to $15,000.

We didn't come up with any solutions, but it was food for thought.  That, along with intermarriage.  America is always a blessing, but on the issue of Jewish continuity, a bit of a curse.