We’ve explored the customs and traditions of what to say to your Jewish friends when someone they love dies in this blog. Now, we’ll be looking at the different Jewish burial practices and traditions that take place after death.
According to Jewish law one of the biggest mitzvahs (aka “good deeds”) that someone can do in their life is to care for and bury the dead. To give a proper burial to a stranger ranks alongside giving bread to the hungry and garments to the naked. It’s an act of compassion and empathy that is deeply important to those who practice the Jewish religion. While there are many different ways to practice Judaism, thoughtful traditions and guidelines for Jewish burial still continue through community care.
For instance, all Jewish people are entitled to a physical and spiritual attendant after death (though not all Jewish people choose to access this funeral rite). This act of attending to a person after death performed by others is called a “shmirah” (in Hebrew: שמירה), which means watching or guarding. The person or people who perform this duty are called, “shomer” (in Hebrew: שומר, plural “shomrim”, שומרים). The tradition of the shmirah does not necessarily require touching a dead body. In fact, many times during one’s life “shomer” can refer to watching over someone’s belongings or even keeping kosher-– but when someone dies Jewish law requires a shomer care for someone’s body after the time of their death. This often means someone sitting close by and making sure the body is physically and spiritually guarded.
Historically this attendance was important due to the arid climate of the middle east; it required someone to watch for wild animals, or people who might do harm to the physical body itself. This guarding is also spiritually important, because the practitioners of the Jewish faith believe that after death the soul hovers close to the body before it moves on to the next world. In the liminal space between death and burial the shomer is present to make sure the soul is not alone during this transition.
Jews from orthodox and conservative synagogues have a cleansing ritual performed after their death by a chevra kadisha team. A chevra kadisha is a holy society of people that prepare a body for burial, and remain anonymous to their congregation.
The ritual of purification the chevra kadisha performs is called “tahara” (in Hebrew: טהרה), in which a body is washed and dressed in preparation for the next world. Men prepare men and women prepare women. When someone dies, chevra kadisha are called to a funeral home. Each member arrives and together with the greatest care, respect, and intention they perform the ceremonial ritual in mostly silence. They then depart just as they came.
A local chevra kadisha member says of the quietness of the tahara that, “it is not a secret ritual, rather, it is done privately and quietly to protect the dignity of the deceased,” as dignity and respect is the ultimate goal of Jewish burial according to their faith. Chevra kadisha never perform the ceremony on their own family members. There are five parts of this ceremonial ritual that prepare the body and soul of the deceased for the next world:
- Preparations for the ritual upon arrival, opening prayers, and reading the obituary to honor the deceased.
- Cleansing the body physically–this can mean removing any nail polish or makeup someone might be wearing, and cleaning under their fingernails.
- Washing and purifying the deceased spiritually– 38 grams of water is poured over the body from head to toe (the body is always washed from head to toe, right side to left side) while a prayer is spoken. The body is then patted dry.
- Brushing the deceased’s hair, dressing the body in the traditional burial garments (“Tachrichim”) or shroud, and placing it in a simple pine casket while saying a prayer.
- Closing prayers are recited as the casket is closed before the team departs.
The chevra kadisha asks for forgiveness from God both at the beginning and the end of Tahara as a sign of devotion and respect. They do not perform this ritual on Shabbat (the Sabbath day) or any other high holy days. This physical and spiritual burial ritual is a true act of care and compassion. One local chevra kadisha says of the work that she, “has been blessed with the ability to do this mitzvah” adding, “some people sing, some people play music, but being blessed with the ability to perform tahara is a true gift from God. It is an honor to care for my community.”
We’ll be diving into the traditional burial process and what happens at the graveside in the next blog, but if you’d like to learn more about traditional Jewish ritual and burial practices, please contact us. We would love to discuss how natural burial can be a meaningful way to honor you or your loved one.