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Jewish Life & Celebrations

Memorial Stone Dedication

Memorial Stone Dedication

Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine
A memorial service allows family and friends to say their ‘farewells,’ to make final the reality of death. This service can be held in the community house, in the home, or in the funeral chapel.
Sherwin T. Wine, Celebration, Prometheus Books, 2003, pp 389-390.

We live and we die. That is the pattern of nature. Sometimes death comes too early, spoiling hopes and dreams. Sometimes it comes when we least expect it, interrupting success and stability. Sometimes it comes in old age, concluding what is already complete.

Although death is relentless, we do not surrender to it. We pay our tribute to life. No matter how brief, no matter how long, life is supremely important. Every person is unique. Every biography is special.

Our tribute to those we loved is that we do not forget. They always have a place in our minds and in our hearts. They always survive in the freshness of our memories.

This service of memorial is an expression of our loyalty.

Let us pause for a moment of silent tribute to the life of _____, who lives on in the power of our remembering.

Silent Tribute

This stone is a sign of our determination to remember. ______ has died. But his/her memory is alive. Sometimes it makes us painfully aware of his/her absence. But at other times, it fills our thoughts with sweet remembrances.

Because we loved him/her, we shall not forget him/her. Nor shall we betray his/her will to live. In the presence of death, we shall help each other to live – and to hope.

We dedicate this stone to the memory of ______. Although the stone remains here, its meaning as a loving tribute travels with us wherever we go.

Closing Words

May the memory of good people continue to bless our lives.

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