Week 10- Religious Funeral Customs, Judaism

• Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

• Basic objectives for funeral service personnel

• Jewish funeral rites

• Orthodox Judaism

•  Reform Judaism

• Conservative Judaism
  

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Week 10

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

• Basic objectives for funeral service personnel

  •  Attention to detail

  •  Reverence for sacred objects

  • Appropriate deference to clergy/officiant

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

• Dignity and decorum

•  Smoothness of procedure

• Flexibility of adaptation to various customs and cultures (e.g., gender,  race, etc.)

• Awareness of honorarium policy and related fees

• Awareness of local, regional, and cultural variations

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Jewish funeral rites- 

  • Terminology

    • Aron- a casket made entirely of wood with no metal parts.

    • Cantor- a religious singer who assists the clergy

    • Chevrah Kadisha -  a group of men or women who care for

      the dead

    • El Malei Rachamin  a memorial service; literally "God full of

       compassion"; usually the last prayer of the funeral service; sometimes referred to as the Malei

    • Hesped  a eulogy or true evaluation of the deceased's life that is a part of a Jewish funeral service.

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Jewish funeral rites- 

  • Terminology

    • Kaddish- in the Jewish faith, a prayer recited for the deceased by the direct mourners

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Jewish funeral rites- 

  • Terminology

    • Kriah-Hebrew term meaning rending or tearing; a symbol of grief; a tear in the upper corner of

      the garment or a tear on a symbolic ribbon which is worn by the survivors.

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Jewish funeral rites- 

  • Terminology

    • Levaya- in the Jewish faith, the funeral procession.

    •  Menorah-a candelabrum with a central stem bearing seven candles

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Jewish funeral rites- 

  • Terminology

    • Mogen David (Star of David)- in the Jewish faith, a hexagram formed by the combination of two triangles. May be called the Jewish Star. It symbolizes a new hope for the Jewish people.

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Jewish funeral rites- 

  • Terminology

    •  Rabbi-a teacher or ordained leader in the Jewish faith.

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Jewish funeral rites- 

  • Terminology

    • Shabbat- the Jewish Sabbath; begins at sundown Friday and ends at sundown Saturday

    •  Shivah-a seven (7) day mourning period.

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Jewish funeral rites- 

  • Terminology

    • Shloshim meaning 30 in the Jewish faith; the 30-day mourning period.

    • Shomer a watcher; one who sits with the deceased reading Psalms until burial.

    • Synagogue-  a place of religious worship in the Jewish faith; may also be referred to as Temple or Shul.

    • Tachrichim a hand-sewn white linen shroud in which the deceased members of the Jewish faith are dressed.

    • Taharah  in the Jewish faith, the ceremonial washing the deceased before the burial; a ritual purification or cleansing of the deceased which should be performed by the Chevra Kaddisha.

      
      

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Jewish funeral rites- 

  • Terminology

    • Tallith  a prayer shawl worn by Jewish males during the morning prayer service

    • Tehillim  in the Jewish faith, prayers said before the funeral by a group of friends and the shomer

    • Yahrzeit  in the Jewish faith, the anniversary of the death.

    • Yarmulke/Kippah/Yamaka- in the Jewish faith, the skull cap worn by males at temple and funeral services.

    • Yizkor   A memorial service recited four times a year.

      
      

      
      

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

• Orthodox Judaism- The collective term for the Traditionalist/Fundamentalist branches of contemporary Judaism.

  • Linked the closest to ancient Hebrew beliefs.

    • Pre-service considerations

      •  Notification of Rabbi

        • Notify the Rabbi as soon as the death occurs unless the death occurs on the Sabbath.

        • if the death occurs on the Sabbath, the Rabbi should be notified immediately after the Sabbath.

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

• Transfer of remains

  • Prohibitions

    • Unless the death occurs in a public place, there is foul play and the medical examiner is involved, the body should remain at the place of death until after the Sabbath.

  • Mandates

    • Keep all clothing items that have blood on them as these items should be buried with the decedent.

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Accommodations for the Chevrah Kadisha

  • The group leader should be notified as soon as the death occurs so he/she can make arrangements for the Taharah.

• Embalming not customarily practiced

  • Unless local law supersedes for some reason

  • Forwarding of remains to Israel for burial is very common

  • Remains should be pack with ice/dry ice in lieu of embalming

  • The Chevrah Kadisha will dress the decedent in traditional garments (See pg 94 in your Funeral Ceremonies Text)

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Preparation, dressing and casketing of the remains

  • Ritual washing/ceremonial washing (Taharah)

  •  Use of the shroud (Tachrichim)

  •  Casket characteristics (Aron)

  • Mogen David placed on the foot end of the casket

  •  Earth of Israel is placed in the casket

  • Casket closed, no viewing

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Funeral customs

  •  Details of services and location- Usually at the funeral home

  •  Proper attire for directing the service- Formal, dark colors preferred.

  •  Knowledge of local religious etiquette- With all classifications of Judaism, there are regional customs, along with religious customs

  •  Flowers may be prohibited

  •  The funeral procession may stop at the synagogue for prayer

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Committal service

  •  Absence of lowering device, utilization of grave straps

  •  Community prefers to backfill grave when possible

    •  Cover Aron so no wood shows

    •  Fill entire grave or fill grave to make a mound

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

• Outer burial container- should have holes in the bottom or use a basic grave liner

• Post-committal considerations

  • Shivah

    • 7 days of mourning. mirrors are covered, no showering, no shaving, no leather attire, mourners sit on low chairs or stools

  •  Sholoshim

    • 30 day mourning period-Mourners abstain from all festivities and men do not shave.

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

• Cremation prohibited

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Reform Judaism-Least restictive

  • Pre-service considerations

    •  Embalming permitted

    • Clothing selected by the family

    • No prohibitions as to the type of casket

    •  Visitation with viewing permitted

    •  Floral arrangements permitted

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Funeral customs

  •  Services may not be on the Sabbath (Shabbat)

  • Maybe at the funeral establishment, synagogue, or residence of the deceased or family

  • Casket is closed during the service

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

• Committal service

  •  Final disposition method determined by family’s wishes

  • No prohibitions regarding interment

• Cremation is permitted, but not common

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

• Conservative Judaism- Still follows traditional views, but has embraced some changes.

  • Pre-service considerations

    •  May follow Orthodox or Reformed traditions

  •  Funeral customs

    • May follow Orthodox or Reformed traditions

​ Religious funeral customs as practiced in the United States

•  Committal service

  • Final disposition is determined by the wishes of the family

  •  No prohibitions regarding interment

• Cremation is permitted, but not common