Death and Burial: What are Jewish funeral customs?
The following is a summary of Jewish funeral customs: • Funerals should take place as soon as possible, often done on the day of death or the following day. • Autopsies are not routinely done unless required by law. • Cremation is not allowed. This is because traditional Jews are prohibited to desecrate a body by artificial means. According to Rabbi Maurice Lamm “Even if the deceased willed cremation, his wishes must be ignored to observe the will of our ‘Father in Heaven.” • Burial is a plain wooden casket with no metal, that includes no metal handles or even nails. They are put together with wooden pegs. Actually, Jewish tradition is to bury the person without a coffin; if a coffin is mandatory by local law, tradition dictates choosing a simple one. As Rabbi JB Soloveitchik put it, the deceased can’t appreciate the fine furniture. Better you spend that money getting your synagogue a new pew! • The body is clothed in a white linen shroud and not street clothes. Shrouds are sewn withou
The following is a summary of Jewish funeral customs: • Funerals should take place as soon as possible, often done on the day of death or the following day. • Autopsies are not routinely done unless required by law. • Cremation is not allowed. This is because traditional Jews are prohibited to desecrate a body by artificial means. According to Rabbi Maurice Lamm “Even if the deceased willed cremation, his wishes must be ignored to observe the will of our ‘Father in Heaven.” • Burial is a plain wooden casket with no metal, that includes no metal handles or even nails. They are put together with wooden pegs. Actually, Jewish tradition is to bury the person without a coffin; if a coffin is mandatory by local law, tradition dictates choosing a simple one. As Rabbi JB Soloveitchik put it, the deceased can’t appreciate the fine furniture. Better you spend that money getting your synagogue a new pew! • The body is clothed in a white linen shroud and not street clothes. Shrouds are sewn withou
* The body is clothed in a white linen shroud and not street clothes. Shrouds are sewn without knots, and are a multiple piece garment. In earlier times, the sisterhoods or women’s auxiliaries used to make shrouds for their community; this practice may still occur in traditional communities. Today, virtually all (Jewish) mortuaries carry shrouds, the prices vary. This is done because of a rabbinic decree of around 1800 years ago. People were spending more than they could afford on funeral expenses because no one wanted to show the deceased, typically a parent, less honor than others showed their loved ones. So, Rabban Gamliel, the “prince” of the Jewish community of the time (and therefore his estate would be quite wealthy), demanded that he be buried in simple white linen, and that this become the custom for everyone. He patterned this clothing after that worn by the High Priest in the Temple on Yom Kippur. If G-d asks the High Priest to enter the Holy of Holies and confront the Divin
