Death and Mourning
In Judaism,
life is valued above almost all else. The Talmud notes that, since all mankind is descended from a single person, taking
a life is like destroying an entire world while saving a
life is like saving an entire world.
However, death is also not viewed as a tragedy, even when it
occurs early in life or through unfortunate circumstances. Death is seen as a
natural process. Death, like life, has meaning and is
part of a divine plan. In addition, Jews have a firm belief in an
afterlife where those who have lived a worthy life
will be rewarded.
- Death
- Care for the Dead
- Burial in Jewish Cemetery
- Mourning Practices
- Kaddish
- Tombstones
Death
Other than a select few prohibitions, Judaism not only permits but often requires a person to
violate the 613 commandments if necessary to save a life. Because life is so valuable, we are not permitted
to do anything that may hasten death - this Euthanasia, suicide and assisted suicide are strictly forbidden by Jewish
law.
However, where death is imminent and the
patient is suffering, Jewish law does permit one to cease artificially
prolonging life. Thus, in certain circumstances, Jewish law permits
"pulling the plug" or refusing extraordinary means of prolonging
life.
Mourning practices in Judaism are extensive, but
they are not an expression of fear or distaste for death. Jewish
practices relating to death and mourning have two purposes: to show
respect for the dead (kavod ha-met), and to comfort the living
(nihum avelim), who will miss the deceased.
Care for the Dead
After a person dies, the eyes are closed, the body
is laid on the floor and covered, and candles are lit next to the
body. The body is never left alone until after burial, as a sign of
respect. The people who sit with the dead body are called shomerim,
from the root Shin-Mem-Resh, meaning "guards" or
"keepers".
Respect for the dead body is a matter of paramount
importance. For example, the shomerim may not eat, drink, or
perform a commandment in the presence of the dead. To do so would be
considered mocking the dead, because the dead can no longer do these
things.
Most communities have an organization to care for
the dead, known as the chevra kaddisha (the holy society).
These people are volunteers. Their work is considered extremely
meritorious, because they are performing a service for someone who
can never repay them.
Autopsies in general are discouraged as
desecration of the body. They are permitted, however, where it may
save a life or where local law requires it. When autopsies must be
performed, they should be minimally intrusive.
The presence of a dead body is considered a source
of ritual impurity. For this reason, a kohein may not be in the presence of a corpse. People who have been in the
presence of a body wash their hands before entering a home. This is
to symbolically remove spiritual impurity, not physical uncleanness:
it applies regardless of whether you have physically touched the
body.
In preparation for the burial, the body is
thoroughly cleaned and wrapped in a simple, plain linen shroud. The
Sages decreed that both the dress of the body and the coffin should
be simple, so that a poor person would not receive less honor in
death than a rich person. The body is wrapped in a tallit with its tzitzit rendered invalid. The body is not embalmed,
and no organs or fluids may be removed.
The body must not be cremated. It must be buried
in the earth. Coffins are not required, but if they are used, they
must have holes drilled in them so the body comes in contact with the
earth.
The body is never displayed at funerals; open
casket ceremonies are forbidden by Jewish law. According to Jewish
law, exposing a body is considered disrespectful, because it allows
not only friends, but also enemies to view the dead, mocking their
helpless state.
Jewish law requires that a tombstone be prepared, so
that the deceased will not be forgotten and the grave will not be desecrated.
It is customary in some communities to keep the tombstone veiled, or
to delay in putting it up, until the end of the 12-month mourning period.
The idea underlying this custom is that the dead will not be forgotten
when he is being mourned every day. In communities where this custom
is observed, there is generally a formal unveiling ceremony when the
tombstone is revealed.
Burial in a Jewish
Cemetary
The establishment of a separate place for the burial
of Jews, although an ancient practice, is not mandated directly in the Bible or Talmud or in the codes of Jewish law. The Bible (Genesis 23) describes the acquisition by Abraham of a private plot to bury his wife Sarah,
and the Talmud also calls for burial in one's own family plot (b'tock
shelo) (Bava Batra 112a).
In talmudic times, while ancestral tombs continued
to be used, public burial plots were already established. In one reference,
the Talmud suggests that a righteous man cannot be buried next to a
sinner, which would indicate that burying in communal cemetaries did
take place. The sinner the Talmud speaks of is one guilty of a capital
offense, which includes the worship of idols. Since idolatry was prevalent
among non-Jews, all heathens-and by extension all non-Jews, were placed
in the same category. This is probably the rabbinic foundation for insisting
that Jews be buried in their own cemetaries.
In theory and in emergencies, however, the law does
permit a Jew to be buried next to a non-Jew. Rabbi Yekutiel Greenwald,
in his book on morning, mentions the case of a Jew who lived among non-Jews
and who feared that when he died he would be buried in their cemetary.
The Jew therefore left word that when he died his body was to be burned.
When the man's wish became known, the rabbis ruled that the wish was not to be fulfilled because it is
far better to be buried among non-Jews than to be cremated, which is
a clear violation of Jewish law.
During World
War II, the law committee of the Jewish Welfare Board's Division
of Religious Activities, consisting of all denominations of rabbis,
ruled that Jewish chaplains may officiate at miltary services in national
cemetaries such as Arlington, where Jewish and Christian soldiers are
buried side by side.
Mourning Practices
Jewish mourning practices can be broken into
several periods of decreasing intensity. These mourning periods allow
the full expression of grief, while discouraging excesses of grief
and allowing the mourner to gradually return to a normal life.
When a close relative (parent, sibling, spouse or
child) first hears of the death of a relative, it is traditional to
express the initial grief by tearing one's clothing. The tear is made
over the heart if the deceased is a parent, or over the right side of
the chest for other relatives. This tearing of the clothing is
referred to as keriyah (lit. "tearing"). The mourner
recites the blessing describing G-d as "the true Judge," an
acceptance of G-d's taking of the life of a relative.
From the time of death to the burial, the
mourner's sole responsibility is caring for the deceased and
preparing for the burial. This period is known as aninut. During this time, the mourners are exempt from all positive
commandments ("thou shalts"), because the preparations take
first priority. This period usually lasts a day or two; Judaism
requires prompt burial.
During this aninut period, the family
should be left alone and allowed the full expression of grief.
Condolence calls or visits should not be made during this time.
After the burial, a close relative, near neighbor
or friend prepares the first meal for the mourners, the se'udat
havra'ah (meal of condolence). This meal traditionally consists
of eggs (a symbol of life) and bread. The meal is for the family
only, not for visitors. After this time, condolence calls are
permitted.
The next period of mourning is known as shiva (seven, because it lasts seven days). Shiva is observed by parents,
children, spouses and siblings of the deceased, preferably all together
in the deceased's home. Shiva begins on the day of burial and
continues until the morning of the seventh day after burial. Mourners
sit on low stools or the floor instead of chairs, do not wear leather
shoes, do not shave or cut their hair, do not wear cosmetics, do not
work, and do not do things for comfort or pleasure, such as bathe, have
sex, put on fresh clothing, or study Torah (except Torah related to mourning and grief). Mourners wear the clothes
that they tore at the time of learning of the death or at the funeral.
Mirrors in the house are covered. Prayer services are held where the shiva is held, with friends neighbors and relatives making up
the minyan (10 people required for certain prayers).
The Sabbath that occurs during the shiva period counts toward the seven days
of shiva, but is not observed as a day of mourning. If a festival
occurs during the mourning period, the mourning is terminated, but if
the burial occurs during a festival, the mourning is delayed until after
the festival.
The next period of mourning is known as shloshim (thirty, because it lasts until the 30th day after burial). During
that period, the mourners do not attend parties or celebrations, do
not shave or cut their hair, and do not listen to music.
The final period of formal mourning is avelut,
which is observed only for a parent. This period lasts for twelve months
after the burial. During that time, mourners avoid parties, celebrations,
theater and concerts. For eleven months of that period, starting at
the time of burial, the son of the deceased recites the mourner's Kaddish every day.
After the avelut period is complete, the family
of the deceased is not permitted to continue formal mourning; however,
there are a few continuing acknowledgments of the decedent. Every year,
on the anniversary of the death, family members observe the deceased's Yahrzeit (Yiddish, lit. "anniversary"). Sons recite Kaddish and take an aliyah (bless the Torah reading) in synagogue if possible.
Mourners light a candle in honor of the decedent that burns for 24 hours.
In addition, during services on Yom
Kippur, Shemini Atzeret,
the last day of Passover,
and Shavu'ot, after the haftarah reading in synagogue,
close relatives recite the mourner's prayer, Yizkor ("May
He remember...") in synagogue. Yahrzeit candles are also
lit on those days.
When visiting a mourner, a guest should not try to
express grief with standard, shallow platitudes. The guest should
allow the mourner to initiate conversations. One should not divert
the conversation from talking about the deceased; to do so would
limit the mourner's ability to fully express grief, which is the
purpose of the mourning period. On the contrary, the caller should
encourage conversation about the deceased.
When leaving a house of mourning, it is
traditional for the guest to say, "May the Lord comfort you with
all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem."
Kaddish
Kaddish is commonly known as a mourner's prayer, but in fact, variations on
the Kaddish prayer are routinely recited at many other times,
and the prayer itself has nothing to do with death or mourning. The
prayer begins "May His great Name grow exalted and sanctified in
the world that He created as He willed. May He give reign to His kingship
in your lifetimes and in your days ..." and continues in much that
vein. The real mourner's prayer is El Molai Rachamim, which is
recited at grave sites and during funerals.
Why, then, is Kaddish recited by mourners?
After a great loss like the death of a parent, you
might expect a person to lose faith in G-d, or to cry out against G-d's
injustice. Instead, Judaism requires a mourner to stand up every day,
publicly (i.e., in front of a minyan,
a quorum of 10 adult men), and reaffirm faith in G-d despite this
loss. To do so inures to the merit of the deceased in the eyes of
G-d, because the deceased must have been a very good parent to raise
a child who could express such faith in the face of personal loss.
Then why is Kaddish recited for only 11
months, when the mourning period is 12 months? According to Jewish
tradition, the soul must spend some time purifying itself before it
can enter heaven. The maximum time required for purification is 12
months, for the most evil person. To recite Kaddish for 12
months would imply that the parent was the type who needed 12 months
of purification! To avoid this implication, the Sages decreed that a
son should recite Kaddish for only eleven months.
A person is permitted to recite Kaddish for other
close relatives as well as parents, but only if his parents are dead.
Tombstones
Jewish law requires that a tombstone be prepared, so
that the deceased will not be forgotten and the grave will not be desecrated.
It is customary in some communities to keep the tombstone veiled, or
to delay in putting it up, until the end of the 12-month mourning period.
The idea underlying this custom is that the dead will not be forgotten
when he is being mourned every day. In communities where this custom
is observed, there is generally a formal unveiling ceremony when the
tombstone is revealed.
It is also customary in some communities to place
small stones on a gravesite when visiting it. This custom has become
well-known from the movie Schindler's List, in which the children of
survivors place stones on the grave of Oscar
Schindler. The custom is not universal, even among traditional Jews,
and there seems to be some doubt as to how it originated. It seems to
have superstitious origins. It's a little like leaving a calling card
for the dead person, to let them know you were there. Stones, unlike
flowers, are permanent and do not get blown away in the wind. Some other
sources suggest that it was originally done because we are required
to erect a tombstone, and tombstones that actually looked like tombstones
tended to get desecrated.
What
is written on a tombstone? In most cases, it is very straightforward
Hebrew text, similar to what you might see on a tombstone in English.
An illustration of a typical Jewish tombstone is shown here.
At the top is the abbreviation Peh-Nun, which stands for either "poh
nitman" or "poh nikbar", which means "here lies..."
The marks that look like quotation marks are commonly used to indicate
an abbreviation or a number written in letters.
The next line is the name of the decedent, in the form (decedent's
name), son of or daughter of [father's name]. "Son of" is
either ben (Bet-Final Nun) or bar (Bet-Resh). "Daughter of"
is bat (Bet-Tav). The tombstone above says "Esther bat Mordecai"
(Elsie, daughter of Morrice). If one of the names is preceded by the
letter Resh, this indicates that the person is a rabbi. The names may
also be followed by the title ha-Kohein (Heh-Kaf-Heh-Final Nun) or ha-Levi
(Heh-Lamed-Vav-Yod), indicating that the person was a kohein or a Levite.
See the Hebrew Alphabet page if you need help in identifying specific
letters on a tombstone.
The third line indicates the date of death. This line
begins with the abbreviation Nun-Peh followed by the date, the month,
and the year. The date and year are written in Hebrew numerals, which
are letters. The month name is sometimes preceded by a Bet (meaning
"of"). The tombstone above indicates that the date of death
was 18 Shevat 5761. Yod-Chet = 10+8 = 18. Shin-Bet-Tav is the month
name Shevat. Tav-Shin-Samech-Alef = 400+300+60+1 = 761 (the 5000 is
assumed). See Hebrew
Alphabet -Numerical Values if you need help in identifying a number.
See Jewish Calendar
- Months of the Jewish Year if you need help identifying months.
The last line is an abbreviation that stands for "tehe nishmatah
tzerurah bitzror hachayim," which means "may her soul be bound
in the bond of eternal life."
You
may also find Jewish symbols on a tombstone, such as a menorah,
a Magen David, a torah scroll,
a lion, or the two tablets of the Ten
Commandments. Most of these symbols don't tell you anything about
the decedent (other than the fact that he or she was Jewish). However,
if you see a picture of hands in a position like the one at right, this
normally indicates that the decedent was a kohein,
because this hand position is used when the kohanim bless the congregation
at certain times of the year [this is where Leonard Nimoy, himself a
Jew, got the idea for the "Live long and prosper" salute in Star Trek.]
Sources: Judaism
101; Kolatch, Alfred J. The
Jewish Book of Why/The Second Jewish Book of Why. NY: Jonathan
David Publishers, 1989.
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