BURY’S register office has been praised for its handling of death and bereavement in the Jewish community.

The office was held up as an exemplar to be emulated by other boroughs at a first-of-its-kind event held to share understanding around the issues, on Monday.

The seminar, entitled Death & Bereavement: Jewish Law, Ritual and Customs, was organised by Misaskim Manchester and took place at the Stenecourt Synagogue in Salford.

Representatives from Bury Register Office were among more than 130 professionals from organisations including Greater Manchester Police, the North West Ambulance Service, hospitals and bereavement teams.

Haydn Keenan, superintendent registrar of births, deaths and marriages in Bury, said: “During the evening Rabbi Daniel Walker gave an introductory presentation on Judaism, covering concepts of Jewish law, gender, the soul and afterlife, family, privacy and the basic laws of Shabbos.

Misaskim’s Dan Smith then gave a talk on why and what we do in the event of a Jewish death, together with the laws and customs involved, including topics such as organ donation and neonatal bereavement.

The seminar was chaired by Rabbi Dovid Eisenberg who also led a question-and-answer session.

Misaskim Manchester was established in 2009 to provide support and assistance to people experiencing crisis or tragedy. Its voluntary-led community services include safeguarding the dignity of the deceased, assisting the bereaved and supporting individuals during these times.

A spokesman said: “We are delighted with the feedback, with overall satisfaction at the event recorded as excellent to outstanding. Many commented on how this was the first such event that they had been invited to and how much it improved their understanding.

“Similarly attendees regretted not inviting their wider teams to attend and as a result, Misaskim have been asked to repeat presentations in a number of north-west hospitals.”