GEN853 Since even good lives are filled with toil and turmoil, we remember our beloved dead by saying, after we mention their names, alav/aleha ha-shalom, peace be upon him/her. This is a hope that dates back to the Bible: “R. Levi b. Hita said: One who leaves a funeral should not say to the dead, ‘Go unto peace’ but, ‘Go in peace’ … because God said to Abraham, “You shall go to your fathers in peace’ [this verse]. Mo’ed Katan 29a. Particularly when someone has suffered protracted emotional adversity or physical pain, the release promised by the peace of death can almost be welcomed. As R. Meir taught: “When a righteous man departs from the world, three groups of angels warmly receive him with the greeting of shalom. The first says, ‘Let him enter in peace,’ the second says,  ‘Let him rest on his couch,’ and the third says, ‘Each one that walked in righteousness’ Isaiah 57:2” Numbers Rabbah 11:7. But even those whose lives have not been particularly troubled hope for an ultimate peace. So we read about Judah ha-Nasi: “As Rabbi was dying, he raised his fingers toward heaven and prayed, ‘Sovereign of the universe, it is revealed and known to you that I have labored in the study of Torah with all ten of my fingers and that I did not seek the benefits of this world with even the littlest of them. May it be Your will, therefore, that there be peace in my final resting place.’ A Heavenly Voice then proclaimed, ‘He shall enter into peace; they shall rest on their beds’ Isaiah 57:2” Ketubot 104a. To this day at funerals and memorial services we intone the El malei rahamin prayer, “God, full of compassion…” which in resounding conclusion appeals: May Adonai be his/her possession and may his/her repose be shalom.” BOROJMV 244