• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to footer

The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

  • About Jack
    • Other Places You Can Find Me
  • Contact Me
    • Disclosure
  • About Jack
    • Other Places You Can Find Me
  • Contact Me
    • Disclosure

Don’t Say This At a Funeral

June 5, 2006 by Jack Steiner 8 Comments

Share
Pin
Share
0 Shares

When consoling a grieving widow try not to say “harei at mekudeshet li*” when what you really meant to say is “HaMakom yenachem et’chem b’toch shar avay’lay Tzion vee’Yerushalayim.**”

Not that this has ever happened to me, I am just saying you might want to try and avoid it.

(*Part of a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony. In English it translates something like this: “You are betrothed to me.”

**This is a traditional line said to try and comfort mourners at Jewish funerals. In English it translates something like this: “May the Omnipresent comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”)

(Visited 275 times, 1 visits today)

Share this:

  • Share
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Things You Might Read

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jack's Shack says

    June 7, 2006 at 3:05 am

    Elie,

    They might have and then again maybe they didn’t. Just covering my bases here. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Elie says

    June 6, 2006 at 3:58 pm

    Jack:

    It would only be lashon hara if you told who said it – no? But did someone actually say it? How mortifying!

    Reply
  3. Jack's Shack says

    June 6, 2006 at 4:35 am

    JB,

    If I said that might be characterized as loshon hara and we wouldn’t want that, would we.

    Ezzie,

    It is worth a chuckle.

    Rebecca,

    Yep.

    Soccer Dad,

    🙂

    PP,

    Murphy’s Law is a pain in the ass, isn’t it.

    Reply
  4. tafka PP says

    June 5, 2006 at 10:47 pm

    SoccerDad- that’s HYSTERICAL!

    Grr. Now that I’ve read your post, Murphy’s law dictates that this will definitely happen to me one day. Oh well, I’ll just blame you when it does, I’m sure *everyone* will understand!

    Actually I always get that sentence wrong anyway, I prefer the Sephardic version “Tenachem MeHashamayim”- two words, much more difficult to confuse!

    Reply
  5. Soccer Dad says

    June 5, 2006 at 8:27 pm

    May I also suggest that if you get Sheva Brachos at a wedding don’t say “…asher yatzar es ha-adam b’chochmo…” but rather “…asher yatzar es ha-adam b’tzalmo…”

    Reply
  6. Rebecca says

    June 5, 2006 at 8:26 pm

    wow I’m still laughing!!!

    Maybe that’s why they have it posted on the wall

    Reply
  7. Ezzie says

    June 5, 2006 at 8:01 pm

    OMG… I can’t imagine that happening. That’s too horribly hysterical.

    Reply
  8. Jewish Blogmeister says

    June 5, 2006 at 7:44 pm

    Did you know someone who did?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Footer

Things Someone Wrote

The Fabulous Archives

Copyright © 2025 · Jack Steiner