Jewish Traditions

Through its rich traditions, Judaism guides a family from before the time of death through death and burial and eventually back to society.

Burial and mourning practices: Many questions regarding burial and mourning practices can easily be answered from the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly- Michigan Region's brochure.

The Mourner's Kaddish-: See our Mourner's Kddish prayer with Hebrew, English pronunciation guide and translation, and a link to a video recitation of the prayer in Hebrew.

Common Hebrew Terms- Here are a list of some common hebrew terms associated with burials you might hear.

Chevra Kaddisha: A holy society which takes charge of a body to clean and bathe and dress the body for burial
Taharah: A ritual pouring of water over the deceased
Tachrichim: A plain white shroud the body is dressed in
K'vod hamet: Honoring the dead
Shemira and Shomer: From the moment of death, the body is not left alone until after burial. This practice, called guarding/watching (shemira), and is done by a shomer.
Vidui: Final confession
Keriah: Tearing of an outer garment, or more commonly now, the black ribbon
Tzidduk hadin: "Justification of judgement" is usually chanted
El malei rachamim: The memorial prayer (Compassionate God)
Shiva: Means seven and is the traditional number of days for mourning where the family does not leave the house
Kaddish: Memorial prayers
Shloshim: Means 30 and is the traditional number of days the mourners say memorial prayers at synagogue
Yahrzeit: Anniversary of the death (based on the HEBREW date of death)
Yizkor: Memorial prayers said on Yom Kippur