On a clear, crisp December morning a month after her 39-year-old husband, Evan, died of cancer, Mikaela Dunitz immersed herself in a Berkeley neighbor’s hot tub as Zoë Francesca Goldblatt recited the Shema, the Shehechiyanu and other prayers with her. Calming music with soulful lyrics played in the background.

Goldblatt, an end-of-life doula who supports individuals and families as death nears, crafted the “shloshim mikvah” for Dunitz to mark the end of the 30-day mourning period in Judaism. Goldblatt had counseled Dunitz and her husband as his illness progressed. When the young widow shared the depth of her pain following his passing, she and Goldblatt turned to ritual as a way to process the grief.