Hesped

The tradition & historical record

Bereavement in Judaism (Hebrew: אֲבֵלוּת, romanized: ʾăvēlût, lit. 'mourning') is shaped and governed by a combination of Jewish custom (מִנְהָג, minhāg; pl. מִנְהָגִים, minhāgîm), observations of figures in the Hebrew Bible, and mitzvot (Biblical Hebrew: מִצְוֹת, romanized: miṣwôt, lit. 'commandments'; sing. מִצְוָה, miṣwāh) derived therefrom in Judaism's Rabbinic literature. Chazal—the rabbis and scholars whose discussions are recorded in the Mishnah, Talmud, and Tosefta—explicate mourning Halakha in, for example, Mo'ed Katan 14b–28b, Sotah 14a:4, Berakhot 6b, and Sanhedrin 46b. The details of observance and practice vary according to each Jewish community. ¹

In Judaism, the principal mourners are the first-degree relatives: parent, child, sibling, and spouse. There are some customs that are specific to an individual mourning a parent. Religious laws concerning mourning do not apply to those under thirteen years of age, nor do they apply when the deceased individual is aged 30 days or less. ¹

Upon receiving the news of the death, the following blessing is recited: ¹

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, דַּיַּן הָאֱמֶת. Bāruḵ ʾattā ʾadōnāy ʾelōhēnû, meleḵ hāʿolām, dayyan hāʾemet. Blessed are you, YHWH, our God, king of the universe, the judge of truth. In the Hebrew Bible, the mourning custom was to tear one's clothes the moment one heard the news of a death. The modern practice is for the close relatives who are the principal mourners to tear their clothing at the funeral. ¹

Avel (pl. avelim) – mourner(s) Avelut – mourning, of which there are different levels based on who is mourned and the timing post-death: Aninut – generally the day when the news is heard; before burial. A mourner in this period is known as an onen. Shiva – seven days, from the Hebrew word shiva (שִׁבְעָה, 'seven'). Begins with the burial day. Shloshim – 30 days, starting from the day of burial Shneim asar chodesh – mourning period of twelve months for a deceased parent Chevra kadisha – burial society Hesped – eulogy Qaddish – said by a mourner or by someone on behalf of a mourner Qeriah – tearing; timing varies by custom. At times deferred to the funeral chapel or at the cemetery Qvura – burial Levaya – funeral service. The word means "escort(ing)." L'Illui Nishmat – Hebrew for elevation of the soul, sometimes abbreviated LI"N Matzevah – monument or tombstone. See also Unveiling of the tombstone. Petira – passing Shemira – watching or guarding of the body until burial, to ensure it is not left unaccompanied Tahara – purification (by water) of the body Yahrzeit – Yiddish for anniversary of the (Hebrew/Jewish) date of passing ¹

The chevra kadisha (Hebrew: חברה קדישא "sacred society") is a Jewish burial society usually consisting of volunteers, men and women, who prepare the deceased for proper Jewish burial. Their job is to ensure that the body of the deceased is shown proper respect, ritually cleansed, and shrouded. Their work is traditionally understood as an expression of chesed shel emet (Hebrew: חֶסֶד שֶׁל אֱמֶת, "true kindness"), a term used in Jewish tradition to describe acts of kindness performed for the deceased, who cannot repay or acknowledge them. Classical rabbinic sources regard care for the dead as the purest form of gemilut chasadim (acts of loving-kindness), emphasizing the dignity (kavod hamet) owed to every person in death. As part of this obligation, the chevra kadisha carries out burial preparations with discretion, simplicity, and equality, reflecting the communal responsibility to honor the deceased and support the bereaved. Many local chevra kadishas in urban areas are affiliated with local synagogues, and they often own their own burial plots in various local cemeteries. Some Jews pay an annual token membership fee to the chevra kadisha of their choice, so that when the time comes, the society will not only attend to the body of the deceased as befits Jewish law, but will also ensure burial in a plot that it controls at an appropriate nearby Jewish cemetery. If no gravediggers are available, then it is additionally the function of the male society members to ensure that graves are dug. ¹

There are three major stages to preparing the body for burial: washing (rechitzah), ritual purification (taharah), and dressing (halbashah). The term taharah is used to refer both to the overall process of burial preparation, and to the specific step of ritual purification. Prayers and readings from Torah, including Psalms, Song of Songs, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah are recited. The general sequence of steps for performing taharah is as follows. ¹

The body (guf) is uncovered (it has been covered with a sheet awaiting taharah). The body is washed carefully. Any bleeding is stopped and all blood is buried along with the deceased. The body is thoroughly cleaned of dirt, body fluids, and solids, and anything else that may be on the skin. All jewelry is removed. The beard (if present) is not shaved. The body is purified with water, either by immersion in a mikveh or by pouring a continuous stream of 9 kavim (usually 3 buckets) in a prescribed manner. The body is dried (according to most customs). The body is dressed in traditional burial clothing (tachrichim). A sash (avnet) is wrapped around the clothing and tied in the form of the Hebrew letter shin, representing Shaddai, one of the names of God. The casket (aron) (if there is one) is prepared by removing any linings or other embellishments. A winding sheet (sovev) is laid into the casket. Outside the Land of Israel, if the deceased wore a prayer shawl (tallit) during their life, one is laid in the casket for wrapping the body once it is placed therein. One of the corner fringes (tzitzit) is removed from the shawl to signify that it will no longer be used for prayer and that the person is absolved from having to keep any of the mitsvot. The body is lifted into the casket and wrapped in the prayer shawl and sheet. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Bereavement in Judaism”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Hesped is religious obligation in Judaism, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²