The Jewish Perspective

1
The Jewish Perspective

• Dr Iris Cohen Fineberg
• International Observatory on End of Life Care
• Lancaster University
• June 2009

2
Tradition and variation

• Judaism is full of tradition
• Across time and geography, changes to traditions
  have taken place yet many traditions persist
• Different Jewish groups, with differing histories
  and degrees of religiosity, may have widely
  varied approaches
• Ask two Jewish people...get five answers

3
Dying
4
Core concepts about life

• The sanctity and preservation of life in Judaism
  is of paramount importance.
• Jewish law maintains that one has no absolute
  ownership of one's body. We are given a body for
  a fixed time. We are obliged to guard it for
  safe-keeping. We have no rights to tamper with
  life except for the purpose of preventing its
  destruction or loss.

5
Withholding and withdrawing
life-prolonging treatment

• If a person is considered to be truly at the end
  of life, it is considered permissible to withhold
  interventions that would artificially prolong
  life.
• Some people would support the withholding of
  interventions (such as life support) but would
  not allow the removal of such interventions if
  they were started.

6
Suicide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia

• Suicide in Jewish law is forbidden. A person's
  soul is not his to extinguish, and he cannot not
  direct someone else to assist him in ending his
  life.
• Under no circumstances may a doctor directly
  kill, or indirectly provide the means for
  suicide.
• Any form of active euthanasia is strictly
  prohibited and condemned as plain murder.

7
Once Someone Has Died
8
Core concepts

• Death is seen as a part of life and a part of
  G-d's plan.
• The underlying idea for how we treat the dead is
  that people are created in the image of G-d.
• There is reverence for the dead, not worship of
  the dead.

9
Core concepts

• Guiding principles in around death and dying in
  Judaism focus on (a) respect for the dead (kevod
  hamet), and (b) care of those remaining.
• The mourning rituals in Judaism do not indicate a
  protest of death, but demonstrate the great value
  Judaism places on life in general and the life of
  each individual person.

10
Once someone has died

• A rabbi or central person in the synagogue should
  be contacted.
• There are specific rituals for care of the body
  and preparation for burial.
• Burial should take place as soon as possible and
  within 24 hours, following a principle of
  honoring the dead (k'vod hamet). Only if
  immediate relatives cannot arrive in time from
  abroad, or there is not enough time for burial
  before Shabbat or a holiday, are burials
  postponed for a day. Anything else is considered
  a "humiliation of the dead.

11
Care of the body

• After death the eyes are closed and the body laid
  out.
• From the moment of death, the body is not left
  alone until after burial. This practice, called
  guarding/watching (shemira), is also based on the
  principle of honoring the dead.

12
Chevra Kaddisha (holy society)

• Most Jewish communities have a special group of
  volunteers, the Chevra Kaddisha, whose job is to
  care for the dead.
• Women care for women, and men care for men, in
  accordance with traditions of modesty.

13
Chevra Kaddisha

• Members are responsible for washing the body
  (Taharah) and preparing for burial in accordance
  with Jewish custom. They wash the body with warm
  water from head to foot, and although they may
  turn the body as necessary to clean it entirely,
  they never place it face down.
• The body is never left alone. A family member, a
  Chevra Kaddisha member, or someone arranged by
  the funeral parlor passes the time by reciting
  psalms (Tehillim) as this person watches over the
  deceased.

14
Basic prohibitions

• Dead bodies may not be cremated.
• Embalming and the removal of organs and fluids
  (mutilation of the body) is prohibited.
• However, many Liberal rabbis will officiate at
  funerals involving cremation and embalming.
• There are allowances for autopsies and organ
  donation. The former can be done if it would save
  a life or if local law requires it the latter
  may be done since the organ's eventual burial
  will fulfill the requirement to bury the entire
  body.

15
Cremation

• Orthodox Judaism only practices burial for the
  following reasons
• That it is commanded.
• That the body should be returned to the earth.
• That the corpse should lie in soil to speed up
  decomposition. This accounts for the
  Ultra-Orthodox custom of burying bodies wrapped
  in shrouds with no coffins.
• Because the body should lie and wait for it's
  resurrection.
• It is the only way to give due honour to the
  body.
• In the last 100 years since modern techniques of
  cremation have become available, many Jews have
  left instructions that they should be cremated.
  When Jewish cremation takes place the same
  prayers are said as at a burial.
• One emotional problem which tends to prevent Jews
  from opting for cremation is the memory of the
  fact that many of the Holocaust victims were
  forcibly cremated in the death camps.

16
Preparation for burial

• The body is dressed in white burial shrouds
  (tachrichim), which are purposely kept simple to
  avoid distinguishing between rich or poor.
• Men are buried with their prayer shawl (tallit),
  which is rendered ineffective by cutting off one
  of the fringes.
• The coffin is plain for the same reason of
  avoiding distinguishing between rich and poor. It
  is a simple pine wood box. In Israel, burials
  are often done without caskets.
• There are no open casket funerals.

17
At the cemetery

• Once the coffin is lowered into the grave, family
  and close friends cover the coffin with a few
  handfuls of dirt.
• A Jew who is a Cohen, a descendant of the
  priestly class, will only attend the funeral and
  burial of his immediate family as he is otherwise
  forbidden to come near a corpse. You may see a
  close friend or relative who is a Cohen remain
  outside the funeral parlor or cemetery because of
  this law.

18
Mourning and memorialising
19
Mourning rituals

• Keri'ah (tearing) is the tearing of garment by
  close mourners. This was an ancient way of
  expressing grief which existed in biblical times.
  Originally the tearing was done on hearing of the
  death.
• Today, Keriah is usually done immediately before
  the funeral service. When the tearing takes place
  the mourner says a blessing. Some people pin a
  black ribbon to their clothing.
• Keri'ah is only required for those who have lost
• Father
• Mother
• Brother
• Sister
• Half-Brother
• Half-Sister
• Son
• Daughter

20
Memorial periods

• Shivah the first seven days
• Shloshim the first 30 days
• Year of mourning
• Yahrtzeit the anniversary of the death
• Unveiling unveiling the headstone at the
  cemetery any time after the 30 days

21
Memorialising

• Jews do not send flowers but may make a donation
  to charity in memory of the deceased
• When paying a Shiva call it is appropriate to
  bring food, because the person mourning is not
  supposed to worry about such mundane matters.
• Being surrounded by family and close friends
  often helps mourners cope with the immediate
  loss. Family members find solace from sharing
  memories of the deceased during Shivah.

22
Shivah

• After the funeral mourners return to the home of
  the deceased or closest relative and stay there
  for seven (Shiv'ah) days. (The seven include the
  day of the funeral.)
• During the seven days the mourners if strictly
  observant are required (among other things)
• Not to leave the house.
• To sit on low stools.
• Not to wear leather shoes.
• Not to shave.
• Refrain from sexual intercourse.
• Not to do business or any manual work.
• Not to bathe or anoint themselves except for
  hygienic reasons.
• A Shiv'ah is interrupted by the Sabbath for that
  should not be a day of sadness. It is terminated
  completely when a major festival intervenes. Not
  everyone observes a full seven days in this way.

23
Shivah

• Because the mourners do not go out to attend
  synagogue services, services are held each day in
  the home. Friends and relatives come to visit.
  Comforting mourners is considered a commandment
  (mitzvah). The visitors also help to make up the
  minyan (10 people) for the prayers.
• Many present day mourners feel that they have a
  duty to supply refreshments for the people who
  call during the seven days. However the original
  Jewish tradition was quite the opposite. Mourners
  were thought not to be in a fit state to prepare
  food and the friends and relatives who visited
  were expected not to call empty handed but to
  provide food for the mourners. The first meal
  after the funeral either contained lentils or
  eggs. The latter being a symbol of new life.

24
Covering mirrors

• It is now common practice for people to cover
  mirrors in a house of mourning or else turn them
  to face the wall. It is however not required and
  appears to be just a folk custom that originated
  outside of Judaism.
• One reason is to reflect that as mourners we
  should not have vanity (worry about how we look).

25
Candle

• Throughout the seven days of the Shiv'ah a light
  is kept burning. The light may be symbolic of the
  soul of the departed.
• We use a light to remember someone who brightened
  our lives when we light a Yahrtzeit candle. Amid
  the sadness and gloom of mourning, light is a
  symbol of hope and of comfort.

26
Year of mourning

• At the end of the year a matsevah (tombstone) is
  put on the grave. Stone masons recommend that
  relatives wait at least six months before
  erecting a stone as the ground needs at least
  that time to settle. The Sephardim usually have
  horizontal stones, so that nobody is higher than
  anyone else in death. Many Ashkenazi cemeteries
  have a height limit for the same reason.
• It is the custom to have a short service of
  consecration around the stone (unveiling), which
  often also serves to mark the end of the year of
  mourning.
• When people visit a grave it is a common practice
  to place a small pebble on the grave to show that
  one has visited. The origin of this custom may
  possibly go back to Biblical times. By placing a
  pebble on the grave the visitor is helping to
  preserve the memory of the dead person.

27
Yahrtzeit

• A Yahrtzeit is the anniversary of the death of a
  parent. The word is Yiddish and means a year's
  time.
• Although it was originally introduced as a day to
  say Kaddish (a specific prayer) for a mother or
  father, today, many also keep the Yahrtzeits of
  other close relatives.
• The day is observed by the lighting of a memorial
  light and by keeping it burning for the full
  Jewish day from sunset to sunset.
• It is usual to attend Synagogue on that day or on
  the Shabbat before the date to say Kaddish.

28
Life after death

• Jewish sacred texts and literature have little to
  say about what happens after death.
• Judaism is much more focused on actions than
  beliefs, with a focus on the commandments
  (mitzvot) to be performed in this life.
• Jewish holy texts focus on the purpose of earthly
  life, which is to fulfill one's duties to G-d and
  one's fellow person. Whether anything at all
  happens after death, is not as important.

29
Parting thoughts...

• Variation is the rule rather than the exception
• Even when principles are similar, traditions vary
• Each community may have certain traditions
• Each family will have views, needs, and
  traditions
• It is better to ask a patient and family what
  their views, wishes and traditions are rather
  than assuming that because they are Jewish they
  subscribe to any particular set of ideas and
  traditions.

30
Resources books

• The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning by Maurice
  Lamm (Jonathan David Publisher, 1969 new edition
  published in 2000)
• Ethnic Variations in Dying, Death, and Grief
  Diversity in Universality, edited by Donald P.
  Irish, Kathleen F. Lundquist, Vivian Jenkins
  Nelsen (Taylor Francis Publishers, 1993).
• Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Medical Ethics
  (2nd ed.), edited by Robert M. Veatch (Jones and
  Bartlett Publishers, 2000)

31
Resources websites and web articles

• http//web.ukonline.co.uk/lawrence.rigal/jewish/cu
  stoms/index.htm
• United Jewish Communities/Jewish Federations of
  North America http//www.ujc.org/page.aspx?id937
• http//www.religionfacts.com/judaism/cycle/death.h
  tm
• http//judaism.about.com/
• http//www.jlaw.com/Commentary/AsstSuicide.html