FSE 2060- Funeral Directing- 4.4- Jewish Funeral Rite

Sholoshim

- 30 day mourning period in which family will abstain from all festivials or amusement - Kriah ribbon or button is worn

Casket

- Aron is composed entirely of wood, no metal parts, the Mogen David is usually attached to the top (lid) of the casket - Conservative and Reform may or may not select an Aron for the casket - Once Aron is closed it is not to be reopened - the body and all body fluids are placed in the Aron, any bloody clothing would need to be placed in a bag and placed in the casket if embalming was not allowed for religious reasons

Notification of Death to the Rabbi

- Essential for Orthodox Jews if the death is not on the Sabbath. No funerals are carried out on the sabbath, as it is a day of rest. The Jewish Sabbath or Shabat, begins at sundown Friday evening and ends at sundown Saturday evening. - May or may not be required for Conservative and Reform

Religious items placed near the casket during visitation

- Menorah placed near the head of the casket - Mogen David may be placed behind the casket in the similar way that the crucifix is placed behind the casket of the Roman Catholic - A pall may be placed over the casket

Funeral Service

- Orthodox funeral held at the FH or cemetery, but not the synagogue, since that would make the syngague ceremonially unclean - Conservative or Reform may be held anywhere - Prior to service, family participate in a kriah ribbon ceremony, where rabbi cuts a kriah ribbon for each family member as sign of a broken heart, grief. The ribbon is worn during the shloshim. -Rabbi and Cantor will conduct the funeral, by offering prayers and scriptures for the deceased - Men will wear a yarmulke and tallit - The final prayer is the El Malei Rachamin

Visitations

- Orthodox may or may not hold a visitation, since the burial is to be the same day as the death - If the Aron was used and the casket was closed never to be reopened, the visitation would not include a viewing - May include a shomer reciting prayers/chants. The Shomer will sit on a short wooden stool as not to be confortable in the funeralization process. The shomer will traditionally stay with the body until burial. - Few, if any, flowers are brought to the visitation. One reason is that burial is within 24 hours of death and there may not be time to order flowers, another reason given is that flowers are signs of happiness.

Preparation of Remains

- Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews will not normally allow embalming, although exceptions are more prevalent in the Conservative movement and most common among Reform Jews. - While all Jews may untilize the Chevrah Kadisha to perform ceremonial washing of the deceased including prayers, Taharah, dressing in a Tachrichim, and placement into an Aron, members of an Orthodox or Conservative temple are most likely to use this ritual. - Cremation is forbidden by Orthodox Jews - Conservative and Reform Jews discourage cremation

Commital

- Rabbi leads from the casket coach to the grave space - procession within the cemetery- walking procession- may stop several times and offer prayers - casket will be lowered into the ground using grave straps for the Orthodox Jew, while the Conservative and Reform may use a lowering device

Yarzheit

- anniversary of death - Kaddish is recited each year on the anniversary of death

Tachrichim

- for Orthodox Jews, the Tachrichim includes a white linen shroud - Conservative and Reform may or may not be dressed in the Tachrichim, if not, they would be dressed in the clothing normally worn by the deceased

Conservative

- the moderately liberal Jewish sect - still follow ancient traditions but have accepted gradual change as a natural growth of the religion

Reform

- the most liberal of all Jewish sects - all greater flexibility and have adapted to modern practices

Shivah

-7 day mourning period in which the shivah candle is burnt. Shivah candles are designed with the appropriate amount of wax to burn for seven days and then go out. - family does nothing, no school, no work, no celebrations - each evening during this time, the Kaddish prayer is said - during this time, it is customary to cover the mirrors, since the family is not to be concerned about appearance at a time of mourning.

Shanna

11 month extension of Shloshim by immediate family members

How long is the Kriah ribbon worn for?

30 days

Rabbi

Jewish teacher or ordained leader

Transfer of Remains

Restrictions may apply for deaths on the Sabbath, in that some will not want a transfer made on the Sabbath, state laws will supercede the Jewish customs

Hashkava

prayer for the laying down of deceased relatives

Orthodox

the most traditional of all Jewish sects - Continue ancient beliefs and traditions

Procession

The Orthodox procession will generally stop at the synagogue on the way to the cemetery

Messianic

While some will list the Messianic Jew as a Jewish sect, while others believe that Messianic Jews are actually Christian converts from Judaism. For our purposes, we will not discuss the Messianic Jew other than to say they would follow the Reform Jewish customs or the customs of the Christian religion to which they adhere.

Israeli

a political term and defines the nationality of a person

Jewish

a religious term and defines the religion to which one may belong

Hebrew

an ethnic term and defines the ethnicity of a person

Chevra kadisha

burial society- holy brotherhood of men or women from synagogue who care for the dead

Taharah

ceremonial washing of deceased byt Chevra before burial; serves as ritual purification or cleansing of the body