Beyond the Tears
Helping Jewish Kids Cope With Death

by Rabbi Eugene I. Kwalwasser Young people have no experience with death and mourning. They need guidelines, a sense of direction, a path that will give them comfort even as they express their anger, frustration, and suffering. Unfortunately, many parents are at a loss as to how to explain the end process of life to their children. Not all parents can really “speak” to their children during such traumatic times. Beyond the Tears serves as a way for young people to pour out their feelings in a constructive, self-fulfilling manner. Using real-life examples, the author shows how others have coped with death. Includes information on Jewish mourning practices, the answer to questions kids frequently ask about bereavement, and a Memory Book that helps bridge the past to the present and the future. Rabbi Eugene I. Kwalwasser is a dedicated Jewish educator with almost four decades in the classroom and administration, including twenty-seven years as the Dean of Yavneh Academy, a large Yeshiva Day School in New Jersey. As an energetic and enthusiastic principal, he has impacted thousands of children and their families and continues to share the joys and pains of their lives. Beyond the Tears: Helping Jewish Kids Cope with Death is a reflection about the many bereavement experiences encountered in his community and the ways that people cope. Currently, Rabbi Kwalwasser is involved in Pastoral Education where he regularly addresses life's most difficult issues for people of all ages. He and his wife Edna live in Fair Lawn, NJ. They are the proud parents of three married children and seven grandchildren who live in the United States and Israel. "Beyond the Tears: Helping Jewish Kids Cope with Death is an honest and reassuring work that offers specific advice for dealing with different types of loss and the multiplicity of confusing feelings and questions that are a normal part of the healing process. Specific guidance is given regarding how to deal with the intensity of the often conflicting and ambivalent feelings that are part of recovery from loss. Rabbi Kwalwasser has provided the Jewish community with an important tool for easing one of the most difficult challenges of life. Helping children and adolescents deal with loss in a psychologically sound manner can set the stage for how they will confront this important life task throughout their life." David Pelcovitz, Ph.D., Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Chair in Jewish Education, Azrieli Graduate School, Yeshiva University "Children who are hurting because of life's experiences beyond our control need and deserve to be listened to so we can shower our guidance, care, and concern upon them when it is most needed. This is truly the message of Rabbi Kwalwasser's captivating stories and real life situations. In our hearts we want to help, by reading this book, we learn how." Laurie Olbrisch, Executive Vice President RAINBOWS: Restoring Hope to Grieving Youth