Jewish Funeral

Jewish Funeral Shiva

There are Jewish funeral organizations such as Chevra Kadisha Mortuaries who can make all the arrangements for burial. They will, for a fee, handle everything from limousine service to and from the funeral, to sympathy acknowledgment cards, obituaries in the local and Jewish newspapers, death certificates, and give out Yarzheit candles (memorial candle for the week of Shiva) to the family.

If the family members belong to a Temple or Synagogue, they can ask their Rabbi to conduct the services. If the members are not affiliated with a Temple and want a specific Rabbi, they need to check if the Rabbi is available and agreeable to conduct the service. Otherwise, the Funeral home can locate a Rabbi to conduct the service.

When death approaches, observant Jews receite the final confession. Called the "vidui" in Hebrew, the confession's main sentiment is to ask God that the dying person's death be atonment from their sins.

Before the funeral, the deceased undergoes a purification ritual and is dressed in simple white shrouds.

Jewish law demands immediate burial. It is tradition for the burial to take place as soon as possible, even on the same day of the death, but no more than two nights after the death. Only under certain circumstances, the burial be delayed, for example, if a mourner has to travel to attend the funeral. Note, it is considered disrespectful to keep the body from being buried as soon as possible. The soul has returned to God, but the body is left to linger in the land of the living. That would be considered a matter of great shame.

The mourning period begins with the funeral. Jewish people do not have a wake (where the body is displayed), because Judaism beliefs is that the body should be brought to its resting place as soon as possible. It is not customary to bring flowers.

According to Jewish tradition, the casket must be made of only wood. Belief is that the body is not to be preserved because as the body decays, the soul ascends to Heaven. As such, wood caskets do not prevent the body from returning to the earth. Even metal nails are prohibited in a kosher Jewish casket, because nails are made of a substance that is used in warfare.

Jews must be buried in a Jewish cemetery. Cremation is against Jewish law.

Services starts with the Kaddish, a special prayer which is also recited by a parent for 11 months and by other family members for 30 days. Kaddish is usually said by the son. If there are no sons, family members can designate someone else to say Kaddish for the deceased. It is considered a privilege for the deceased soul to have someone say Kaddish for them.

During the funeral service, Psalms are often read (usually Psalm 122 and Psalm 23). The rabbi and nowadays the family members and friends offer eulogies.

At the cemetery, mourners and friends place earth on the coffin in the grave with their own hands as a way to fulfill the commandment of burying the dead. Upon leaving the grave, the attendees pass through two lines of family and friends. The proper greeting to a Jewish mourner is, "May the Almighty comfort you, together with all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem."

Regardless of whether a Reform, Conservative or Orthodox Jew, many Orthodox beliefs are followed or honored when people want to mourn for a Jewish person in the most traditional way possible. Whenever you are not sure, or are considering a change in rituals, please consult with your Rabbi, or the Rabbi conducting the service and ceremony.

Any Jewish person can be buried in a Jewish cemetery. In certain cases, however, if one marries out of the faith or committed suicide, the person would be buried in a separate part of the cemetery.

Cremation is not allowed in Jewish law because the body was given to us as a gift from God who expects us to take care of ourselves and return in the best condition possible.

Autopsies are not allowed according to Orthodox law, nor donation of body organs. A Rabbi must be consulted if an autopsy has to be done or an organ donation is being considered. It is acceptable, however, to donate a kidney during the persons lifetime.

Embalming is not allowed. This process of removing blood, discarding it down the drain and substituting preservative chemicals in the body, is considered desecration of the deceased person and is forbidden by Jewish law.

It is also the Orthodox opinion that the person be buried in the ground. You may have noticed some sites at a Jewish cemetery where the grave looks like a wall. This is not traditional although but under certain circumstances, it can be allowed. A Rabbi should be consulted before a decision is made.

Historically, to offset odor from the decaying body, non-Jews often used flowers and spices. Due to the immediacy of burial in Jewish practice, flowers and spices were not needed at Jewish funerals. Furthermore, the absence of flowers at Jewish funerals became a way to distinguish between Jewish practice and non-Jewish practice. As such, it is customary to discourage flowers at Jewish funerals.

Despite the custom of flowerless funerals, Jewish Law in no way forbids flowers at funerals. So today there are Jews who do welcome flowers at funerals. And in Israel today, many people place flowers on graves, particularly in military cemeteries.

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