ARK Wood Casket Information
NATURAL QUALITY: We highlight the natural wood grain by sanding each handcrafted pine casket to a cabinet finish. Soft rope handles provide strength and ease of carrying.
ECONOMICAL PATENTED DESIGN: Our patented dovetail design allows caskets to ship flat and store compactly, saving greatly on cost. When the casket is needed, you join the six interlocking boards by simply sliding them together, no tools required. And, the cost is only $599 plus shipping!
EARTH FRIENDLY: Absolutely no metals, plastics, stains, varnishes, or oils are used in our caskets, and our glue contains no formaldehyde. To help restore America's forests, we plant a tree for every casket purchased.
When that person dies, you are not in shape to be making sound decisions. That is when people can be taken advantage of. There is a lot people can do, but they have to plan ahead. Everybody is going to have a death in their family, but, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. More and more people don’t want fancy caskets. They don’t want to spend $8,000 or whatever on a cherry casket. That money is much better spent giving it to the person’s favorite charity than putting it in the ground.
Now families can get an affordable casket that is certified by a rabbi to be good for a Jewish burial. The caskets are designed to go into the ground in a very natural way. They meet the dust-to-dust requirements in the Bible. The pine will disintegrate quickly. It’s very earth-friendly.These caskets are not just for the Jewish community.
Different religious groups and others want the same kind of casket. Many American Indian families and Buddhists or Muslims also want simple caskets that go into the ground in an easy way. Indeed, these are not expensive coffins with a satin bed and pillow and shiny brass handles. They are simple, dignified caskets made of pine. They are shipped in a box of six pieces which fit together like hand in glove in an interlocking dovetail design. No tools are needed.
The act of assembling a casket brings loved ones together. It’s a loving act that starts the healing process. It brings it all home. They put it together themselves. It’s a loving symbol of their respect for that person. They are doing it just to honor that person’s remains.
We recommend whenever possible to preplan and pre-purchase
The following links provide a variety of natural and green burial information:
- Green Graveyards—A Natural Way to Go
AARP Bulletin feature article on the trend towards natural burial.
- Crossings: Caring for Our Own at Death
A Washington D.C. based group with a sensitive and informative site.
- Green Burial Council
A non-profit that supports natural funeral products and services and promotes woodland burials that conserve nature.
- Final Passages
Information on creating your own home or family-run funeral—a compassionate and dignified alternative to current funeral practices.
- A Fine Farewell
Makers of hand painted silk and linen burial shrouds. Owner Marian Spadone supports home funerals and assists in creating meaningful ceremonies to celebrate and honor the living as well as the dead.
- Alternative Funeral Monitor
News from the emerging natural death and dying movement.
| Jewish Burial Supplies Jews are blessed with many traditions and rituals that guide and enrich their daily lives. This is most evident by the way they mark life cycle events.Some of the least understood and most important of the rituals are the ones followed when burying the dead. As with many Jewish traditions, they learn of this responsibility from the torah. They are told of the great lengths to which Abraham went to secure a proper burial place for Sarah, rejecting a gift of land and preferring to purchase it. They learn of Joseph’s wish to be buried in the Promised Land and of Joshua carrying out that wish. Finally, they read about the death of Moses and, from the account, believe it was the Divine who placed Moses in his grave.In the Talmud, there are references to fulfilling the Mitzvah of burying their dead. The most well known is in tractate Shabbat which is recited each morning: “These are the deeds which yield fruit in the here and now and will continue to yield fruit in the life to come…we bury our dead.” |
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Caskets: Ark Wood caskets are made of pine and have been inspected by a rabbi. They come with a written certification from a Rabbi if requested. $795 plus reasonable shipping costs.
Tachrichim: 100% cotton muslin three piece burial garment includes a head covering, belt and a gown which is designed to cover hands and feet completely with opening in the back One size accommodates all. $39 plus postal costs.
Tahara Kits: Contains Tachrichim (burial garment), shards of pottery, dirt of Israel, comb, orange sticks, all cotton white twin sheet. $59 plus postal costs.
Things needed but not in the Tahara kit: seven day candle, cup for hand washing, three pails for water pouring, two towels for drying met, hand towels for drying hands and doctor’s rubber gloves.
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CHEVRA KADISHA SUPPORT: The Jewish way of dealing with death is one part of a larger philosophy of life in which all people are viewed with dignity and respect. Even after death, the body, which once held a holy human life, retains its sanctity. In Jewish tradition, therefore, the greatest consideration and respect is accorded the dead. Funeral customs are traditionally supervised in Jewish communities by a chevra kaddisha, a holy society, comprised of volunteers to aid the bereaved and to ensure that appropriate practices are followed. Assisting in funeral and burial preparations is a highly-valued mitzvah. It is a chesed shel emet, a true act of kindness performed without ulterior motive, for the dead cannot repay this service.
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The following links provide a variety of information, ranging from advice on forming a chevra kaddisha to detailed information provided by groups and congregations on ritual, custom, and practices.
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/lifecycle/Death/.htm
http://www.chelm.org/jewish/taharot/
http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/burial/index.htm
http://www.columbiajewish.org/chevrabklt.PDF |
