About
NASCK, the National Association of Chevra Kadisha, created EndCremation.org and its sister site LastKindness.org to help every Jew choose kevurah.
Empowering the Orthodox community to reach out.
For the Body, the Soul, the Planet
Each site offers a variety of resources, including
Helpline
Videos
Workshop
Articles
Rabbi Elchonon Zohn
Founder & President, NASCK
Rabbi Zohn is a world-renowned halachic expert in all matters of afterlife care. Rabbi Zohn’s expertise is sought out by rabbanim, chevros kadisha, crisis management organizations, and funeral and cemetery directors throughout the world to ensure the highest levels of kavod hameis.
Mrs. Yael Davidowitz
Director of Outreach, NASCK
Mrs. Davidowitz is a nurse, chevra kadisha member, and enthusiastic educator. She has presented to audiences across the Jewish spectrum on the Torah view of the afterlife, the choice of burial versus cremation, and the beauty and importance of the Jewish approach to caring for the deceased.
Daas Torah Support for Last Kindness
Rosh Chodesh Shevat 5781, Rav Chaim Kanievsky Shlit”a, voices support for NASCK’s efforts to reach out to fellow Jews encouraging burial (vs. cremation). For those who support this effort R’ Chaim said they will be zoche to Olam Habah.
Rabbi Simcha Bunim Cohen
Rabbi Eytan Feiner
Rav Reuven Feinstein
Rabbi Aaron Feldman
Rabbi Shmuel Fuerst
Rabbi Nota Greenblatt
Rav Noach Oelbaum
Rabbi Hershel Schachter
Rabbi Peretz Steinberg
Rabbi Herschel Welcher
Rabbi Mordechai Willig
Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky Shlit”a
The mission of NASCK, the National Association of Chevra Kadisha, is to advance chesed shel emes.
Our other programs include:
The flagship website of the National Association of Chevra Kadisha, NASCK.org is a clearinghouse for a wide variety of information, programs, and services. These include discussions of the Jewish approach to death and mourning, a directory of chevros kadisha, and guidance on executing a halachic living will. The site also supports chevros kadisha with trainings, publications, and 24-hour help.
A sister site of endcremation.org, LastKindness.org was created with the needs of the broader Jewish community in mind. With clarity and compassion, it offers a discussion of why burial is the best choice for body, soul and planet — and offers practical help in arranging it.
Every year, on Shabbos Vayechi, NASCK’s end-of-life preparedness program helps hundreds of shuls and tens of thousands of people discuss this crucial but often-neglected topic. The shabbosvayechi.org website is a comprehensive, year-round resource, with information for both the rabbi and the layperson about how to make end-of-life decisions in a manner consistent with halacha and Jewish values. Among the ten topics it covers are the Torah view of “quality of life,” the need for halachic living wills, and writing a last will and testament in a manner that accords with halacha.
South Florida has the nation’s largest population of elderly Jews — and a 69% annual cremation rate. NASCK addressed these alarming facts by establishing a nonprofit cemetery in the heart of Palm Beach County. The 10-acre South Florida Jewish Cemetery is the first of its kind, a cemetery whose mission is to ensure dignified Jewish burial for every Jew.
Since its establishment in 2019, the beautifully landscaped cemetery has sold over 1,000 burial plots, primarily to Jews who were seriously considering cremation, and has provided free burial for nearly 200 m’sei mitzvah.
PeacefulReturn.org presents a wealth of resources — in English and Russian — about the value of Jewish burial.
