Rabbi Beyer says, Death is the time of transition to the next world. "The day of death is better than the day of birth."  Ecclesiastes 7:1.  Our Sages teach that the day of death is the pinnacle of a person's spiritual achievement in this world.  At the closing moments of life, just before the soul is about to leave the body, one would say a rayer of repentance to ensure that their slate was clean and their final worlds would be the Shema, "Hear O Israel, Adonai is our G-d, Adonai is One."

Following death, the deceased is not left along.  Someone stays with the deceased from the time of death until the funeral and burial.  Often a candle is lit.  It is thought that the soul may take time to bcome accustomed to departing the body and moving on to Olam Haba (the World to Come).  Death is part of life and within G-d's plan.  

Faith Forum appears each Sunday in the Local Life Section of the Reno Gazette Journal. Faith Forum clergy answer a question posed each week and responses in the paper are limited to 150 words. Rabbi Beyer is featured as the "Jewish" response. In February 2014 it was 3 YEARS for Faith Forum column in the RGJ.  This interfaith group is now working towards a book which would be an edited collection of these columns. See www.nevadafaithforum.org