We are excited to invite you into something new.
At Kavod v’Nichum, we spend our time in conversation about what it means to care for one another at the end of life. These conversations matter. They shape how we lead, how we build community, and how we show up.
For the first time, we’re taking those conversations out of the room and into the city itself.
Final Stops is a three-day field trip through New York City, led by Rabbi Adina Lewittes and Sarit Wishnevski, Executive Director at Kavod v’Nichum. Together, we’ll explore Jewish death and burial practices in the places they live, from rare manuscripts at JTS to museum galleries that interpret ritual and memory, from the pathways of historic burial grounds to time inside a working funeral home, and through conversations across difference.
This is not just learning. It’s a rare, behind-the-scenes experience with access to people, places, and moments that are usually out of reach.
The work of the Chevra Kadisha is about showing up.
Show up with us in this unique, connective, and immersive way.
The schedule is full and thoughtfully designed, with site visits, learning, and conversation woven throughout. Our program will be led by a group of experienced educators and guides. Click here to learn more about our educators and guides. A detailed itinerary is included below.
Participants will join from New York and the surrounding area, as well as from across the country, creating a rich and diverse learning community.
The cost is $500 per person and includes all program activities, transportation during program hours, meals, and snacks.
Participants are responsible for arranging their own travel and accommodations. Each day, we will gather at designated locations across the city and move through the program together.
A full FAQ is available below. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out at hello@kavodvnichum.org
Meet the Educators and Guides
Stay tuned. More educators and guides will be added soon!
FINAL STOPS FAQ
Where is Final Stops being held?
Finals stops will be entirely in NYC, in Manhattan, from the afternoon of May 31st until the afternoon of June 2nd. We will be in various locations, including the Upper West Side, Lower Manhattan, and Midtown.
Who is this experience for?
Whether you serve on a Chevra Kadisha or are simply drawn to how Jewish end-of-life traditions continue to evolve, this experience is for you.
We’re gathering people who feel curious about this work and want to explore it more deeply, together. Some participants will come with years of experience in Chevra Kadisha or Jewish communal life, others are just beginning to ask questions or find their way in.
If you’re interested in how ritual, care, and community show up at the end of life and how they take shape in lived, communal practice, you’ll be in good company.
What is the cost of Final Stops?
The cost of Final Stops is $500 per person.
This covers the full program experience, including learning, site visits, transportation during the program, and shared meals.
At this time, we’re not able to offer scholarships. If you’re interested in helping make this experience accessible to others by sponsoring a participant or contributing toward a scholarship, we would be so grateful. Please reach out to Sarit Wishnevski, Executive Director, at sarit@kavodvnichum.org
I’m not seeing anything about accommodations. Where will we stay?
Accommodations are not included as part of registration, and participants are responsible for securing their own lodging.
We’ll be gathering at different locations throughout New York City over the course of the program, so you’re welcome to choose a place that works best for your preferences and budget.
We’re also happy to share recommended options and nearby hotels to make planning easier. Just let us know if you’d like suggestions.
Will you offer help with flights or other travel bookings?
We’re not able to assist with booking flights or other travel arrangements.
Participants are responsible for coordinating their own travel to and from New York City. That said, we’re always happy to share general guidance if helpful as you make your plans.
What does the cost cover?
The cost includes all program activities, learning, and guest speakers, along with transportation between sites throughout the program.
We’ll also provide two dinners (Sunday and Monday), two lunches (Monday and Tuesday), and snacks along the way.
Travel to and from New York City, and accommodations are not included.
What dietary accommodations and food options will be available?
We’ll be offering a mix of kosher and kosher-style meals, including catered meals and at least one meal out (likely at a vegetarian or vegan-friendly restaurant).
Menus will be largely pescatarian and vegetarian, with options to support a range of dietary needs.
We’ll collect dietary restrictions and allergies in advance and do our best to accommodate them, and we’ll be in touch directly if anything needs follow-up.
What is the agenda?
Itinerary: Final Stops NYC
Please note: This schedule is subject to change.
Sunday, May 31
3:00 PM – Gathering and welcome
4:00 PM – NYC’s landscape of memory: NYC’s landscape of memory walking tour
6:30 PM – Dinner and conversation
Monday, June 1
10:00 AM – Jewish Theological Seminary Rare Book Room, viewing historic texts
12:15 PM – Lunch
1:45 PM – Guided tour of Plaza Jewish Funeral Home
3:00 PM – Kavod HaMET: An interactive journey through death and art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
5:30 PM – Dinner and Jewish learning with a special educator
Tuesday, June 2
9:00 AM – Walking tour of NYC’s oldest Jewish burial grounds
12:00 PM – Lunch and panel on cultural diversity and Jewish death practices
2:00 PM – Closing
What should I know about accessibility and getting around the city during the event?
We’ll be moving around New York City throughout the program, which will include a fair amount of walking and subway travel. Not all stations are fully accessible, and some involve stairs.
If you have accessibility needs, we encourage you to reach out in advance at hello@kavodvnichum.org. We’ll do our best to accommodate and think through options together.
What should I wear?
Plan to wear comfortable clothes and good walking shoes, we’ll be on the move throughout the city.
The weather can shift at the end of May and beginning of June, so we recommend bringing layers and a rain option.
We’ll be gathering rain or shine.
How do I pay / what are my payment options?
You can register and pay by credit card. Please note that a 3% transaction fee will be added to cover processing costs.
If you prefer to pay by check, you’re welcome to do so. Your registration will be confirmed once the check is received.
Checks should be made out to Kavod v’Nichum and mailed to:
Kavod v’Nichum
PO Box 1206
Maplewood, NJ 07040
What is your cancellation policy?
You may cancel within three days of registering for a full refund.
After three days, cancellations made on or before May 18 will receive a 50% refund.
After May 18, we’re not able to offer refunds.
Is there a deadline to register?
Yes! Registration closes May 17th.
Who do I contact with more questions?
We’re here for you! Email us anytime at hello@kavodvnichum.org for anything — from registration questions to dietary needs, accessibility accommodations, a great idea, or just to say hello.
Made Possible Through the Support of
Adina founded Sha’ar, a community oriented around societal, environmental and spiritual sustainability which for 20 years provided multiple gateways into Jewish life exemplified by a commitment to inclusivity, diversity and innovation. She writes frequently on the changing landscape of identity and belonging and speaks in a variety of settings including the Rabbinical School at JTS where she teaches contemporary Jewish Law. She, is a member of the senior rabbinic faculty of the Shalom Hartman Institute, the Board of Keshet, a national organization working for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Jewish and democratic life, and the AJ Heschel School in NYC. She’s married to Andi and together they’re blessed with 6 kids. When not in NYC or leading Jewish adventures around the world, Dini lives in Quebec’s Laurentian mountains where she’s building a nature-driven Jewish community, the Laurentian Jewish Community Centre, and the region’s first green Jewish cemetery, Makom Manitou.
Sarit is the Executive Director of Kavod v’Nichum. Prior to joining Kavod v’Nichum, Sarit (she/her) trained as an end-of-life doula through INELDA (International End Of Life Doula Association) and produced a podcast and a newsletter called The Be.Side Project focused on where Judaism intersected with the end of life. Sarit has worked for a number of Jewish organizations that seek to weave connections to ancient Jewish rituals and values through modern connection and understanding, including OneTable, Repair the World, PresenTense, DOROT, and Hillel. Sarit is an alumna of the Wagner School for Public Service at NYU (MPA-PNP, 2012), the Ruskay Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership (2017), the Institute for Jewish Executive Leadership at Columbia Business School (2024), and is a Wexner Field Fellow (Class 10). Sarit lives in Maplewood, NJ, with her partner, Ari, and their daughter, Adira. She is a member of the Chevra Kadisha at Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ.
Jon Adam Ross is an interdisciplinary theater artist whose work sits at the intersection of performance, community engagement, and civic life. He is the Executive Director and Co-Founding Artist of Inheritance Theater Project (ITP), a nonprofit that uses creative collaboration to bring people of all backgrounds closer together. Jon has collaborated with more than 300 artists and engaged 14,000 collaborators to devise original performances in 19 states around the US. Jon has led trainings and artist-residencies for many universities, faith communities, and civic institutions including Harvard Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary, and the Obama Foundation. Jon has held fellowships with Invested Faith, the Covenant Foundation, 92NY, Cogenerate, and more. Jon holds a BFA in Acting from NYU/Tisch and enjoys voicing inanimate objects for his 5-year-old. www.inheritancetheater.org
Stephanie Garry is the Executive Vice President of Plaza Jewish Community Chapel, where she has held numerous leadership positions since 2002. Over more than two decades, she has helped shape Plaza’s communal partnerships, strategic growth, and national leadership in end-of-life education and compassionate care.
A lifelong leader in Jewish communal life, Stephanie has held numerous national and local roles, including with the Union for Reform Judaism, AJC, UJA-Federation of New York, and the World Union for Progressive Judaism. She currently serves on multiple boards and advisory councils supporting Jewish communal life and end-of-life care.
Stephanie is also the host of Exit Strategy, an award-winning podcast exploring meaning, legacy, grief, and end-of-life conversations, and her writing has appeared in eJewish Philanthropy and The Times of Israel.
Dr. Isaac Pollak has been involved in the Chevrah Kadisha of the Upper East Side of Manhattan for close to 46 years, and does taharah for Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and any other Jew desirous to meet his maker in the traditional fashion formulated by Aaron Berekhiah ben Moshe of Modena 400 years ago. In addition, Isaac collects and writes on Chevrah Kadisha material and cultural objects, and has a major collection accumulated over some 40 years, and has lectured in various institutions including, YU, JTS, Temple Emanuel, University of Vienna, University of Amsterdam, and Tel Aviv University, on the cultural and anthropological aspects of Chevrah work and on objects in his collection. Professionally, Isaac is the CEO of an International Marketing Company. His education includes an MBA from City College, an MS in Industrial Psychology and Behavioral Science from Long Island University, an MA in Jewish Material Culture from the Jewish Theological Seminary, an MA in Art History from Columbia University, and a DHL from JTS/Columbia.
Jordanna Ibghy is an architect, artist, and entrepreneur working at the intersection of design, death, and ecology. She is the Founder of Urth Ritual, a startup developing biodegradable burial products made from mushroom mycelium, with the aim of transforming modern death care through ecological responsibility, quality design, and ritual. Urth Ritual provides regenerative alternatives to deathcare professionals and individuals seeking meaningful and sustainable solutions.
She is also the Co-Founder of Makom Manitou, a Jewish eco-cemetery in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec. Trained as an architect, she holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a post-professional Master of Architecture in Urban Design and Housing from McGill University. Her academic research explored living materials, sustainable construction, and the experiential qualities of movement in space, with a specific focus on the history, theory, and ritual of walking.
Through practice, research, and entrepreneurship, her current work examines how design can reshape our relationship to mortality, supporting more meaningful, ethical, and life-affirming approaches to death, life, and ecology.
Rabbi Mike Moskowitz is the Director of Scholarship and Multi-faith Engagement at The Beacon for Democracy, a project of Union Theological Seminary. For the past seven years he served as the Scholar-in-Residence for Trans and Queer Jewish Studies at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the world’s largest LGBT synagogue. Rabbi Moskowitz received three Ultra-Orthodox ordinations while learning in the Mir in Jerusalem and BMG in Lakewood, NJ. He is a Wexner Field Fellow, Senior Rabbinic Fellow at the Hartman Institute, and the author of Textual Activism, Graceful Masculinity, Seasonal Resistance, and Ancestral Allyship.
David Kraemer has been part of the JTS community since 1977 when he enrolled at The Graduate School after completing his undergraduate degree at Brandeis University.
He began teaching as a graduate student in 1980, receiving his PhD in 1984. Dr. Kraemer’s focus as a professor is on the literary analysis of rabbinic literature, rabbinic ritual, the social and religious history of Jews in late antiquity, and Jewish diaspora ideologies. He accepted the position of Librarian in 2004 and has since played a crucial role in forging policy and expanding the impact of the Library’s world-renowned collections and programs.
Dr. Kraemer is a prolific author and commentator. In addition to his books (see below), he has written influential articles on the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Mishnah, and other subjects, along with a commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (in The Jewish Annotated New Testament, 2nd and 3rd editions). His most recent book, Embracing Exile: The Case for Jewish Diaspora (Oxford University Press, 2025), was named one of “The Best Books of 2025” by The New Yorker.
Rochelle Friedlich is a licensed geriatric social worker with over 16 years of experience, following an earlier career in law. She has served as Director of Case Management at the Carter Burden Network and Director of Constituent and Community Services at DOROT.
A dedicated member of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun (BJ) in New York City for more than 30 years, Rochelle has been actively involved in the BJ Chevra Kadisha since 2008. She currently serves as a Rosh and co-chair of the Chevra Kadisha.
Rochelle also completed a nine-month chaplaincy training program at the Zen Center for Contemplative Care in New York City. In addition, she was part of the inaugural cohort of the Olam Chesed Chevra Kadisha Builders program through Kavod V’Nichum.
Rabbi Jamie Weisbach (he/him) received Rabbinic Ordination in June 2023 through Hadar’s advanced Kollel, and currently serves as an Educator for the Trans Halakhah Project’s Teshuvah writing collective. Jamie studied English, Theater and Religion at Bowdoin College and has studied Torah, Gemara, and Halakhah at The Conservative Yeshiva, SVARA, Drisha, and Hadar. A Chicago native, Jamie now lives in upper Manhattan with his husband, Amram; their two cats, Perle and Herschel; and an ever-growing collection of books.