The traditional preparations include the dressing of the body with a simple shroud and tallit. In our tradition, at least one person guards the body all the time while psalms are read—they are called Shomrim (watchers), so the body never stays alone until the moment of the funeral service. At the relatives’ request, the communitarian Hevrah Kadishah can take care of the body, guard it and assist in funeral and burial preparations. In our tradition, the burial must be carried out as soon as possible.

 

BET SHALOM’S HEVRAH KADISHAH 

If you need the assistance of the Hevrah Kadishah, please call this number  +34 696 810 863.
We will contact you immediately to guide and help you in such distressing moments.

 

KERIAH

Keriah is one of ways to express the sorrow after the death of a loved one. Keriah is the rending of the garments by the mourner prior to the funeral service. The keriah could be the rending of the garment or the cutting of a ribbon attached to it. The tradition records many instances of rending the clothes after the news of death. When Jacob saw Joseph's coat of many colours drenched with what he thought to be his son's blood, he rent his garments. It’s a physical gesture that symbolizes the emotional pain, and although it’s not a part of the funeral, it has been restored in recent times by the reform movement. 

 

FUNERAL AND BURIAL

The body must be buried wrapped in a white cotton shroud and the tallit, and the casket must be made of wood, simple and unadorned. The funeral service could take place at the funeral home or the grave, according to the wishes of the relatives. If the funeral service is at the funeral home, a brief ceremony is carried out at the graveyard afterwards.

The Jewish funeral service involves the reading or chanting of Psalms, a praise of the deceased by the officiant, and optionally the recollections that friends and relatives wish to share with the people attending the funeral. Some Torah passages and prayers can also be read. At the end of the service the Maleh Rachamim is recited.

To carry the casket is considered an important mitzvah, and it is usually carried out by relatives and close friends, both men and women.

The funeral ends by the grave with the reading of Psalms, the appropriate prayers and the Kadish. Although traditionally only the close relatives read aloud the Kadish, in Reform Judaism the entire community can join the family.

Taking part in a funeral is a mitzvah and a gesture of great respect to the departed. That’s the reason why, if the relatives agree, it is customary to throw three handful of earth over the casket when this is already inside the grave. This is a completely unselfish mitzvah, that is, a mitzvah that one cannot paid for it, and the last one that can be done to a loved one. All mourners and assistants will be able to participate once the relatives are done.

In Bet Shalom we will guide you, offering the services you need to organize the funeral and burial of your loved ones. Please, call this number +34 696 810 863.
We will contact you immediately to guide and help you in such distressing moments.

 

MOURNING
SHELOSHIM AND SHIVAH

In the Jewish tradition the close relatives of the deceased usually mourn the first seven days or shivah at home. These days are included in Sheloshim, a thirty-day period of mourning. The first few days after the death are the most painful and intense, and the mourners remain in home; men don’t shave themselves and women don’t tidy up, it is customary to cover the mirrors, to sit down on low stools and to forgo the comfort of leather shoes, among other practices. It is also a tradition to light a candle in a visible place of the house to symbolize the light that the deceased brought to the family. To Reform Judaism these mourning practices are not necessary, but some people choose to carry out all or some of the traditional mourning customs. Reform Judaism gives us the freedom to remember and mourn our loved ones in the most comforting way.

For Judaism, to comfort those who are mourning is a mitzvah. The fundamental purpose of condolence during the shivah is bringing relief to the relatives after the loss of a loved one. At no other time human beings need so much to feel next to somebody as in these moments.

After the Shiva, the mourners return gradually to social life although they usually avoid assisting to meetings or events. Traditionally, the graveyard is not visited during this period. The keriah ribbons can be used during the thirty days as a mourning reminder  to other people.

 

KADISH

From the trhirteen century the Kadish is recited in the synagogue, as long as there is minyan, at the morning, afternoon and evening services; in Shabbat and festivals; in fast and rejoicing days. In this Aramean prayer there is not a single mention of the death, rather it is a praising of God in which we affirm His Sanctity y it anticipate the advent of peace on Earth. The Kadish brings to our minds that we are not alone in this sorrow moment of our lives. 

Traditionally, when we lose a parent the Kadish is recited every day throughout a complete year. When we lose another close relative as a son, daughter, brother, sister, husband or wife, the Kadish is recited throughout a month.

We recite the Kadish every year in the Yahrzeit, the anniversary of the trespassing and during the Yizkor service.

 

TZEDAKAH AND DONATIONS

From the ancient times we must make tzedakah actions and donations after the death of a loved one. We can make donations to a cause important to the departed or make a donation to the synagogue to honour his/her memory.

 

TOMBSTONE

We are taught in the Torah that the patriarch Jacob erected a column in the tombstone of his wife Rachel. We honour our loved ones in the same way. The site of the tombstone is marked not only for ritual reasons, but also to honour the memory of the deceased and for the tombstone to be found easily by the relatives.

Traditionally the tombstone is placed a year after the trespassing, although it can also be placed once the thirty days of sheloshim are over if the family wishes so. In the moment of the tombstone placing it can be hold a brief service, with the reciting of the kadish for the departed, as a way to mark the ending of the official period of mourning.

 

YAHRZEIT

Yahrzeit, the anniversary of the death is a day to remember our loved one, which is observed according to Hebrew or secular calendar, bearing in mind that Yahrzeit begins the night before the death’s date. 

Families recited commemorative prayers —the Maleh Rachamim and the Kadish, and is customary to light a commemorative candle in the house.

The loved ones’ names whose Yahrzeits are observed during that week are read in the Shabbat service.  

If you’d like to inform us about the death anniversary of a loved one you can contact us here.

Remember that making a donation because of a Yahrzeit is a mitzvah to honour the memory and legacy of the departed.

 

YIZKOR

The Yizkor,  in Hebrew "to be remembered",  is the public tribute of the Jewish community to their departed.

Yizkor, that comes from the Hebrew word Zachor —to remember— is recited four times a year in the synagogue: after the reading of the Torah in Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), in Shemini Atzeret (the day after Sukkot), during the eight day of Pesach, and the second day of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks or the giving of the Torah). During the special service of Yizkor is recited the Maleh Rachamim, the Av HaRachamim, the 23 Psalm and it is customary to add the Kadish as well.