The body is taken, from the Hospital, hospice or home where the person died, to the funeral home. In the funeral home, in preparation for the burial, the clothes are removed and the body is washed. This important ritual is called Tahara. Once the Tahara concludes, the deceased is wrapped with a white shroud or Takhrikhim. In the case of a male, in some communities they use to cover the body with the Talit that the deceased used during his lifetime. In other communities, they placed the Talit inside the grave. In these cases, one of the Tzitziot of the Talit must be cut and removed.

After the Tahara, the body is placed inside the coffin.

The customs regarding the funeral varies from community to community. In many communities the body is transferred directly to the cemetery or to a funeral home, before the actual burial takes place. In our community, the body is taken to the Synagogue, before is the taken to the cemetery. There, the family in mourning is greeted with words of consolation and comfort by relatives and friends. Then, everyone enters the Sanctuary and the prayer Patach Elyahu haNabi is recited. Following this prayer, the rabbis pronounce a few words (eulogy or hesped) in honor of the deceased, and brief words of consolation to his or her family members.

At the end of the eulogies, the mourners leave the sanctuary and stand in the social hall, where every person approaches them and salutes them with a gesture of respect and with additional words of comfort and consolation. Then, the body is taken to the cemetery and relatives and friends accompany it to its final destination, the burial place.

Accompanying the deceased to its final resting place is a Mitzva called Levayat haMet. Some people, close relatives and friends, would accompany the body to the cemetery and other people, would walk behind the coffin for a few steps.

Our Torah indicates that burial must take place as close as possible to the moment of death. To leave the body without burial once the soul has returned to God, according to our tradition, might represent a transgression of a biblical prohibition (lo talin) and a disrespect for the memory of the deceased. Jewish Law, therefore, requires that the body be buried preferably within the day the person died or at least within 24 hours after the decease In some extraordinary occasions –as it shall be explained below – burial could be delayed.

1. As a general rule, the proper time to perform the burial is within the first hours of the morning. If the person died during the early hours of the morning, burial might take place in the afternoon. If death occurred during the afternoon and there was no time to bury the body before sunset, one should wait until the following day. There are factors which are obviously beyond the power of the relatives in charge of the burial arrangements, like obtain the death certificate and sometimes other procedures which might not allow to bury the body as explained above.

2. Only in a situation which would be considered “in the honor of the deceased” the burial might be postponed beyond the time already explained. For example, if a son or daughter or any other relative of the deceased, whose presence in the funeral would bring honor the deceased, must come from overseas. In all these cases, one must consult a rabbinic authority to approve the delay. In no case this delay should take more than three days.

3. If a person died during Friday there is not enough time to perform the burial before Shabbat, or if the person died during Shabat, the burial should be delayed until Sunday morning.

When the pulse of his life stops, the human body –carrier of the soul– must be treated with the utmost respect and honor. The way to take care of the human body in the last moments of life, and immediately after, has been detailed by our religious tradition.

1. During agony, it is forbidden to move the body, to close the eyes of the patient or do anything that might accelerate death. It is also forbidden to speak any matter related to death or burial in the presence of the person nearing death, even if the patient is or seems to be unconscious. It is likewise forbidden to begin or even talk about any arrangements for the funeral or burial before his or her passing away.

2. At the very last moments of life, no men present should leave the room by any means, except those who could become physically or emotionally disturbed. Our tradition considers this moment as one of utmost solemnity. It is therefore a sign of respect for life to remain next to the person that will soon pass to the next world.

3. If the agonizing person is conscious, he or she needs to pronounce the Shema Israel and if possible the Viduy. This last prayer is the confession and repentance from any wrongdoings that he or she could have done in life, towards God and towards other fellowmen. If the dying person is unable to say these prayers by himself, another person can read aloud with him or on his behalf.

4. In Jewish tradition, the moment of death is determined by the interruption of the voluntary respiratory activity. In recent times most Rabbinic authorities identify death with this state: irreversible clinical death. When the cerebral cortex is not anymore in control of the voluntary respiratory activity.

5. In cases where the patient is in a state of clinical death, a competent rabbinic authority should be consulted for any type of procedure. A rabbinical authority should be also consulted for matters related to DNR signing, administration of medicines or treatments that could accelerate death like morphine drip, in cases of terminal illness, etc.

6. In the Jewish tradition, the body should be buried in its entirety, and in the best possible preserved condition. Therefore, autopsy is not usually allowed. One must notify the medical and legal authorities about this religious norm, so to avoid this proceeding. Should there be any complications, please consult a competent rabbinic authority.

7. The eyes and the mouth of the deceased should be closed by his children, relatives or friends who are present at the last moments. Also the face of the deceased should be covered with a bed sheet.

8. The body should not be moved until it is transferred for the burial, except for a matter of honor or respect, for example, to straighten it if it’s in a position or a place which not be appropriate.

9. During the time prior to the funeral, people’s behavior must be at par with the circumstances. One must not mention any form of criticism about the deceased. It is only proper to speak about the virtues of the deceased or the arrangements for the funeral.

10. One should notify to the Chebra Kadisha (community institution that makes all arrangements for the cemetery) to make arrangements for the funeral. It is also important that from the moment of death until the burial the body be watched over. If possible, a shomer (guard) should be requested from the Chebra Kadisha or the community assistance to have someone with the body until the burial.. This custom was established by the rabbis to protect the integrity of the body. In ancient times they were afraid it could get desecrated by rodents, animals, etc.

1. As it has been already explained, it is a special merit to have the Tefilot taking place in the house of mourning during the first seven days. However, if it is not possible to get a Minyan in the house, the Abel must participate in the Tefilot in any of the available daily Minyanim of the community. The main participation of the mourner in the Tefilot is by reciting the Kaddish.

2. With the exception of the Kaddish said at the cemetery (Kaddish deHu atid, which is said by the Abelim only at the time of burial) the Kaddish has no direct reference, to death, mourning or tragedy. The main theme of the Kaddish is the Greatness of God, who conducts the entire universe, and especially each individual human being, with careful supervision. In the Kaddish we admit that no matter how much we try to praise God, His true praise will always lie beyond our comprehension. The Kaddish ends with a petition to God to grant us peace, livelihood, good health and forgiveness.

3. The Kaddish is said several times during the services. The mourners normally say two Kaddishim: one is call “Al Israel” and the other one: “Yehe Shelama”. Kaddish Yehe Shelama is also known among Ashkenazim as Kaddish Yatom, the Kaddish said by the orphans. In our community, Kaddish Yehe Shelama it is said two times in Shacharit (the morning prayers), at the end of the services, before “Kave” and after “alenu leashabeach”, and one time in Mincha (afternoon prayer) and ‘arbit (night prayer), before Alenu Leshabeach.

4. Kaddish al Israel, also known as Kaddish deRabanan, includes an additional paragraph in honor of Torah Scholars and their students. This Kaddish is said after a Mishna or any other rabbinical text is studied or recited, and/or after a debar Torah (words of Torah). In Sephardic communities, this Kaddish is usually introduced by the recitation of the Mincha “Rabbi Chananya ben Aqashia omer….”.

5. The Abelim for father or mother say the Kaddish for twelve months, counting from the moment of burial. However, at the end of the eleventh month, the recitation of the Kaddish is interrupted. There are some communities in which this  interruption takes one or for two weeks, and others who suspend the Kaddish for the whole twelfth month. In some communities, the Kaddish ‘al israel is still recited by the mourners, even when no other Kaddish is recited.

6. When reciting the Kaddish all the Abelim should say it in unison, following those who said it slower. So not to leave behind those who do not say it as fast. The Kadish is recited exclusively in the presence of a Minyan, a quorum of 10 men older than 13 years, but a boy younger than 13 can say Kaddish for his parents together with other Abelim or with the Chazan.

7. Women do not say Kadish. In case that the deceased did not have sons, or that there are only daughters left, a third-person can be given the duty to recite the Kaddish. When it is not possible for a male to say Kaddish, or when a woman wants to elevate the memory of her loved one, there are other ways to honor the memory of the deceased that Rabbis would recommend. Studying Torah or hosting a class of Torah is probably one of the highest honors one can pay in Jewish tradition.

If a baby dies at birth or before completing 30 days of life, the relatives do not do or keep any mourning for the baby. The same rule applies to a baby born at seven months, even though the baby was in an incubator for more than a month. But if the baby dies  30 days or more days after birth, or if he or she died within 30 days of life, and it is possible to confirm that the gestation period was nine whole months, normal mourning (Ylalqut Yosef) is kept. In the Mashadi community, the tradition is that if a baby passes away less than 30 days after birth, the parents and family do not keep any mourning, independently of the the time of pregnancy