Death is a subject we avoid and yet it is something we will all encounter. In this class, Elissa Felder will share some of the lessons learned after the death of her first child. She searched for an answer to the question she had about where he went after he died. The answers she found brought great comfort and inspired her to live a post- Sam life with great passion and purpose. She continues to open the door to a tradition that is 1000's of years old in an attempt to share the wisdom she accessed - which includes traditional teachings on death, life, the afterlife and the holy work of the Chevra Kadisha.
Elissa Felder started and actively manages the only international community of practice for women engaged with traditional Chevra Kadisha (Burial Society). The community mission is to share experiences, give encouragement, network, learn together and help to develop and support each other. She is responsible for building the community and providing on-going professional development. The knowledge she has acquired motivated her to write a personal memoir of loss and grief weaving in Jewish teachings about life, death and afterlife. Her book, “From One Life to the Next Life: The Sacred Passage After Death,” will be published by Mosaica Press. She is also the head of the women’s division of the Rhode Island Chevra Kadisha and is a sought-after speaker on this topic.
In addition, Elissa is the coordinator for all of Core’s Communities of Practice. These communities offer training, resources and support for those who want to strengthen their communities on an intentional and ongoing basis. In her role, Elissa helps each of these many international communities grow and thrive.
Locally, Elissa is the Founder and Director of Core Connects RI, a non-profit organization that aims to deepen women’s connections to one another, to Jewish wisdom and Jewish values, to empower each other to find greater meaning, purpose and possibility in life and to cultivate unity without uniformity. As director she is passionate about providing others with opportunities to grow and become. She runs programming both online and in person.
Elissa works tirelessly to bring Jews together and celebrates the commonalities rather than the differences. Through all of these experiences Elissa mentors and encourages others on their journeys and even finds time to teach a weekly Parsha class.