The Funeral or Memorial service:

Acknowledges that a life has been lived. 

Allows people to remember and honor their loved one in a special way. 

Serves as central gathering place for family and friends to give emotional and physical support to one another.

Provides the final closure for the bereaved. 

Initiates the grieving process. 

Confirms the reality and finality of death. 

Encourages mourners to face the pain of their loss and express their thoughts and feelings. 

Helps survivors to better cope with their grief and enables them to move forward with their lives.

Funeral rites and rituals have developed over thousands of years. Every civilization memorializes death in some form. Just as we celebrate baptism, bahr mitzvah, marriages and other milestones of life, there are good reasons for celebrating a death: