Funeral Traditions & Rituals of Judaism

Judaism, the religion practiced by people of the Jewish faith, is the world’s fifth largest religion, with about 15 million adherents (about 0.18% of the world’s population). The largest number of Jews today live in one of two countries — Israel, with about 6.9 million, and the United States, with about 5.8 million. Canada and France are home to about 400,000 and 450,000 Jews respectively. 

The oldest of the monotheistic religions, Judaism has been in existence for about 4,000 years. It’s core belief system is based on the teachings found in the Tanakh or “Hebrew Bible;” its origins are explained in the first book of the Tanakh, the Torah. Jews believe in a single, almighty God, who has communicated with them through the ages through a series of prophets, beginning with the prophet Abraham. Unlike Christians, who believe Jesus was the Messiah (savior) sent by God to redeem mankind, most people of the Jewish faith believe that the Messiah has not yet arrived. 

According to the Torah, God first revealed himself to the prophet Abraham and made a promise to him (the covenant between the parts) that he would one day be the leader of  “all the land from the deserts of Egypt to the Euphrates,” which later came to be known as the Promised Land. After this revelation, however, the descendents of Abraham were enslaved by the Egyptians for hundreds of years. 

It was nearly 1,000 years after Abraham that God revealed himself again, this time to Moses. A Hebrew man raised by Egyptian royalty, Moses was instructed by God to lead the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and across the Red Sea. They landed on  Mount Sanai, where God revealed himself again and handed down the Ten Commandments. 

Today, the Jewish faith is characterized by two rather distinct groups, Orthodox Jews and Reform Jews. The two differ primarily in their approach to the Torah. According to Rabbi George Stern, Orthodox Jews view the Torah as the literal word of God, which cannot be changed or even interpreted, but only understood. This understanding has been passed down by prophets, rabbis and other holy men as “halachah,” or God’s law (literally,”God’s way”). Thus, Orthodox Jews believe there is only one “authentic” way to practice the Jewish faith and adhere strictly to the Torah’s teachings, even today.

Reform Jews, on the other hand, believe in a more nuanced approach to the Torah and its teachings. They view the Torah as a “God-inspired attempt by Hebrews/Israelites/Jews to understand their surroundings and relationship with God” rather than a set of immutable laws. They also recognize that interpretation of the Torah relies at least in part on geography and culture, and that there is room for individuals to have a more personal understanding of what it means. 

Jewish Beliefs and Traditions Around Death

The Jewish religion is steeped in history, and its traditions around death are varied and rich. Most Jews believe in an afterlife in which the souls of the dead go to a specific place, denoted as Sheol (the underworld) in the Bible, but also known by a number of other names, including the “yeshiva shel mallah” (the school on high) and “shamayim,” which means skies. Although morality plays a large part in the Jewish faith, Jews do not believe in Hell or divine retribution as it is perceived in Christianity and Islam. The closest approximation of Hell in the Jewish religion, which is reserved for those who renounce God, is “to be cut off from one’s kin.” 

The Jewish faith teaches that all people are created in the image of God, and should be treated with respect in both life and death. For this reason, the dying and the dead are handled with utmost care. In the Orthodox tradition, this includes a prescribed set of rituals including prayers at the bedside and the ritual cleansing and shrouding of the body after death — a rite known as “ tahara.” 

In traditional Judaism, burial is the only acceptable form of final disposition, so cremation is rare for those of the Jewish faith (although acceptance of the practice is growing among Reform Jews.) Jews are traditionally buried as soon as possible after death (preferably within 24 hours) and are not embalmed. Mourning rituals also follow a predictable path, starting with the seven-day mourning period known as “shiva” followed by an additional 30 days of mourning known as “shloshim.” The children of a person who died also commemorate one year anniversary of the death. 

Read more about Jewish practices around death and mourning in the articles below.  

• Many Jews Pass on Their Wisdom and Beliefs Through the Tradition of Ethical Wills
• Shiva, the Seven-Day Mourning Period Immediately After a Death, Helps Jewish Families Cope with Loss
• A Jewish Parable Asks Us to Consider How Our Lives Will Be Judged When We Die.
• Some Modern Reform Jews Are Adopting Traditional Orthodox Burial Rites 
• Although It Is No Longer Widely Practiced, Taharah Is a Beautiful Jewish Ritual Worth Revisiting Today
• The Symbolism of Stones Is A Large Part of Jewish Views About God and Death
• For Jewsih Families, Yahrzeit Candles Are Part of An Annual Ritual to Remember A Loved One Who Has Died