Funeral Services for Joan Rivers Will be Sunday At Temple Emanu-El

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Joan Rivers' Funeral to Be Sunday at New York Synagogue

Funeral services for Joan Rivers will be Sunday at Temple Emanu-El in New York City, the synagogue said. Details, including what time services would be held and whether the public would be admitted, weren't immediately disclosed.

Rivers, a member of the Reform congregation, died Thursday at age 81, said her daughter, Melissa Rivers. in her 2012 book "I Hate Everyone ... Starting With Me," Joan Rivers wrote that she wanted her funeral to be "a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action. I don't want some rabbi rambling on; I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents. ... And I want a wind machine so that even in my casket my hair is blowing just like Beyonce's."

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@Miller,

I thought I heard that Jews insisted upon
being buried on the day of death.

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Do you mean the Orthodox?

1 Reply

@Miller,

Miller wrote:

Do you mean the Orthodox?

Yea, but I thought that applied to all Jews.
I guess I misunderstood.

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Only if friends and family members can not arrive in time or there is not enough time for burial before Shabbat or a holiday, are burials postponed for a day or even longer, depending on the cause of the death and family matters.

I've seen a situation in the hospital, where a Jewish man stayed in a hospital, in bed, in the deceased state, while a Court decided, who should take charge of the body and plan the burial. The man was divorced, and his divorced wife wanted to claim the body, while members of his family wanted to be in charge.

I don't know how it was eventually settled, but obviously the deceased person couldn't stay very long at room temp in a hospital bed.

As far as I know the rules for care of the deceased...etc are a bit different for the Orthodox as opposed to the Reform.

Joan died yesterday, so if all rules concerning burial had been followed, she should have been buried today, prior to sundown. For many reasons, this would have been impossible. So, Sunday (9/14) has been chosen for the funeral.

Also, the State/City of NY is still conducting an investigation.

1 Reply

@Miller,

See: " How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household" (Fireside, 1983) by Blu Greenberg.

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@Miller,

The service will be private and by invitation only.

www.eonline.com

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@Miller,

Temple Emanu-El

Can u translate that word, Dr. Miller ?

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Meaning & History

From the Hebrew name עִמָּנוּאֵל ('Immanu'el) meaning "God is with us".

This was the foretold name of the Messiah in the Old Testament. It has been used in England since the 16th century in the spellings Emmanuel and Immanuel, though it has not been widespread.

The name has been more common in continental Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal (in the spellings Manuel and Manoel)

SOURCE: Behindthename.com

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Rivers has already apparently been cremated.

There's a video here showing her coffin being taken out of the funeral home.
http://pagesix.com/2014/09/06/melissa-rivers-kissed-moms-casket-before-shes-to-be-cremated/?_ga=1.50902698.2011789671.1405681169

I am surprised that this was done on a Saturday, the sabbeth. I suspect this was the only way her daughter could insure some privacy for this personally very difficult portion of the farewell without having a hoard of media there.

The service tomorrow will likely be a more traditional, formal, and public, funeral service, even though it will not, apparently, be open to the general public.

Rather than a coffin, an urn with her ashes will probably be there.

1 Reply

@Miller,

Miller wrote:

Meaning & History

From the Hebrew name עִמָּנוּאֵל ('Immanu'el) meaning "God is with us".

This was the foretold name of the Messiah in the Old Testament.
It has been used in England since the 16th century in the spellings Emmanuel and Immanuel, though it has not been widespread.

The name has been more common in continental Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal (in the spellings Manuel and Manoel)

SOURCE: Behindthename.com

Thank u, Dr. Miller.
Do the last 2 letters (i.e., "El") have a translation ?

David

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Hebrew name עִמָּנוּאֵל ('Immanu'el) can also be written as "Immanu-el.

When romanized, עִמָּנוּאֵל ('Immanu'el) becomes Emmanu'el, or Emmanu-el.

David, to answer your question, I don't know , but I'll keep searching.

1 Reply

@Miller,

In the Hebrew Bible there are four words translated "God": El, Elah, Elo'ah, Elohim.

The oldest Semitic word meaning "God" is El. Linguists believe its base meaning is strength or power. "El" is the Strong One, or the Deity (God). The Canaanites called their chief deity El, the Mighty Bull. After the Israelites entered Canaan, they adopted this generic word "El" for their God, though "Elohim" took precedence. In some Canaanite myths, one of El's sons was the notorious Ba'al, the nemesis of the true God throughout much of Israel's history.

In the Bible, El is often combined in proper names: Isra-El; Shmu-El (Samuel); El-ijah; Immanu-El; Jo-El; Dani-El; Beth-El. It's also found in compounds: El Shaddai, El Elyon, El Roi, El Olam.

Elah is the Aramaic word for "God" used in the Aramaic portions of Daniel and Ezra and one verse in Jeremiah (10:11). Its plural form Elahin is used at least once for the true God (Dan 5:23).

Most English Bibles do not distinguish between the four words for "God." But Joseph Rotherham's Emphasized Bible (1902) used different font faces for each.
The word Elo'ah is used some 57 times, mostly in the book of Job. It is likely the singular form behind Elohim.

The generic term for "G/god" Elohim refers to the true "God" (2507x), "gods," "goddesses," and things divine or mighty. It occurs a total of 2600 times in the HB.

Source: hebrewstreams.org

Additional Info:

The Hebrew name of God is EL. The word derives from a root word meaning "might, strength, power" and probabl derives fomr the Ugaritic term for God.

El is almost always qualified by additional words that further define the meaning that distinguish Him from false gods.

SOURCE: hebrew4christians.com

1 Reply

@firefly,

The casket that transported Joan to NJ was not the one that the body was cremated in. Upon arrival at the facility in NJ, the body would have to be transferred to a special , metal casket which would then be used in the cremation.

I suspect that with all the things that had to be done prior to cremation and during the cremation process, Ms Rivers was probably cremated ( or at least the process of cremation begun, after sundown.

Because of the nature of her death, Ms Rivers' body was autopsied. I don't know if her daughter had to give permission for this , or if it is the law of NY. So far, the results of the autopsy have not been published.

0 Replies

@Miller,

Miller wrote:

In the Hebrew Bible there are four words translated "God": El, Elah, Elo'ah, Elohim.

The oldest Semitic word meaning "God" is El. Linguists believe its base meaning is strength or power. "El" is the Strong One, or the Deity (God). The Canaanites called their chief deity El, the Mighty Bull. After the Israelites entered Canaan, they adopted this generic word "El" for their God, though "Elohim" took precedence. In some Canaanite myths, one of El's sons was the notorious Ba'al, the nemesis of the true God throughout much of Israel's history.

In the Bible, El is often combined in proper names: Isra-El; Shmu-El (Samuel); El-ijah; Immanu-El; Jo-El; Dani-El; Beth-El. It's also found in compounds: El Shaddai, El Elyon, El Roi, El Olam.

Elah is the Aramaic word for "God" used in the Aramaic portions of Daniel and Ezra and one verse in Jeremiah (10:11). Its plural form Elahin is used at least once for the true God (Dan 5:23).

Most English Bibles do not distinguish between the four words for "God." But Joseph Rotherham's Emphasized Bible (1902) used different font faces for each.
The word Elo'ah is used some 57 times, mostly in the book of Job. It is likely the singular form behind Elohim.

The generic term for "G/god" Elohim refers to the true "God" (2507x), "gods," "goddesses," and things divine or mighty. It occurs a total of 2600 times in the HB.

Source: hebrewstreams.org

Additional Info:

The Hebrew name of God is EL. The word derives from a root word meaning "might, strength, power" and probabl derives fomr the Ugaritic term for God.

El is almost always qualified by additional words that further define the meaning that distinguish Him from false gods.

SOURCE: hebrew4christians.com

Thank u, Dr. Miller.
I 've noticed that some of the names of angels or archangels have ended in el.

David

Funeral Services for Joan Rivers Will be Sunday At Temple Emanu-El

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