Jewish Funeral

Jewish funeral procedures can take place at a synagogue, funeral home or grave site. A Jewish funeral will start with readings from the Psalms or other Jewish scriptures that contain ideas about the afterlife which is a dominant belief in the religion. Then, eulogies are carried out, which is when the rabbi and those who are close to the deceased person may highlight some of the positive aspects of their loved one’s life. They may also express some feelings about how sad they are regarding the person’s passing. This gives everyone a chance to reflect on their own personal relationship with the person who has died.

The final prayer of the service is called the El Maleh Rachamim, which begs God to grant eternal peace and rest to the soul of the deceased. When the service is over, the coffin is carried to the grave site and the burial will start. At this point, the coffin is put into the grave and soil is covered over its surface by the mourning party, which is known as the shovel ritual. A shovel facing upwards represents their unwillingness to let the deceased person go, but if the shovel faces downwards towards the earth, this represents their acceptance of the death. This has both a religious and personal significance as it is a way of showing respect for the deceased person as well as complying with the biblical commandment of returning a body to the earth. Following the burial, the Kaddish is recited, which is a prayer that gives praise to God and a testament of unrelenting faith.

Once the burial has taken place, it is common for the tearing of garments to occur. This is when the family of the deceased may tear a small piece of their clothing or wear a black ribbon to symbolise their grief. After the burial, the mourners return to the home of the deceased where they begin the first stage of mourning in Judaism.