From the mailbag

Re: my post on who gets to speak at funerals, a rabbi writes:

Listening carefully to some colleagues always gave me the impression that they thought it their God-given exclusive right to speak at funerals, as though this was, somehow, an indispensible rabbinical duty. They seemed to object to lay speakers on the grounds that it was depriving them of an important part of their job, something I found to be incomprehensible.

In most cases, I offer the family the opportunity to speak, which they sometimes accept, but always offer to speak if they prefer.