The written Torah does not provide any positive prescriptions regarding Jewish funeral rites, although it emphasizes the importance of burying the human body after death and its proper destination. It is the books and teachings of later masters that form the complex set of funeral rites that have entered the tradition and liturgy of the people of Israel.
In summary, we can say that in Jewish culture, mourning has two main objectives: respect for the deceased (kevod ha-met) and comfort for the living (nihum avelim). When a person dies, one of those present must close their eyes, lay the body on the ground, cover it with a sheet, and recite a special blessing: Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam, dayan ha-emet. (Translation: “Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the universe, the True Judge”).
Close family members (parent, child, spouse, or sibling) tear their clothes to mark their mourning and grief, as Jacob did when he learned of his son Joseph’s death. They are forbidden to eat meat or drink wine as a sign of mourning, they do not participate in forming a minyan (the quorum of ten Jews for public Jewish prayer), and they are exempt from positive commandments (mitzvot), blessings (berakot), and prayers (tefillot) on weekdays (recitation of euchological texts).
From that moment until burial, the deceased must not be left alone; family and friends must watch over them. The body is then washed (rehizah), symbolizing the purification (taharah) of the body after the soul has departed. The body is dried and dressed in a simple white cotton garment. Outside the land of Israel, if the person had worn a tallit (prayer shawl) during their lifetime, it is wrapped around the body at the time it is placed in the coffin. Jewish tradition prohibits any other dressing, cosmetic makeup, or embalming. The deceased, placed in the coffin and covered with a sheet, is not displayed, in order to avoid any form of idol worship or veneration.
“Dust you are, and to dust you shall return,” God says bluntly to Adam in the Bible, who disobeyed His command and ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge (Genesis 3:19). Our bodies are therefore destined to decompose, and the rite helps facilitate this natural process by wrapping the deceased in a simple sheet and placing them in the earth. In fact, the most common and today the only accepted practice among Orthodox Jews is burial. In biblical times, the dead were often buried in niches carved into caves, as Abraham did with Sarah. However, in the post-Mishnaic period, after the destruction of the Second Temple, the rabbis declared that burial in the earth was the correct method, and it became the norm.
To further avoid any form of veneration, the Jewish rite mandates that burial take place as soon as possible. Maimonides, for example, bases this rule on the biblical obligation to bury a condemned person immediately after execution: “When someone has committed a sin worthy of death and is executed, you shall hang him on a tree. But his body shall not remain overnight on the tree; you shall surely bury him the same day…” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). The Shulhan Arukh (a Jewish law and ritual text written in the 16th century) emphasizes that such rapidity is not always possible: one may wait for a night to obtain a proper coffin or for the arrival of relatives, but any delay is forbidden unless it is in honor of the deceased. It is still the rabbi, upon being informed of the death and consulted, who will set the funeral date.
The simplicity and harshness of the rite do not diminish the fact that the biblical text underscores the importance of burial and the location where it occurs. When Sarah died, Abraham bought a field and a cave to bury his beloved wife after a tense negotiation: “Now the life of Sarah was one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. She died in Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And he rose from before his dead and spoke to the Hittites, saying, ‘I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me the possession of a burial place among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.’” (Genesis 23:1-4). This is followed by a typical commercial negotiation with Ephron, the Hittite leader, after which Abraham paid the demanded sum: four hundred shekels of silver. “Thus the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all its borders, were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites… Then Abraham buried Sarah, his wife, in the cave of the field of Machpelah.” (Genesis 23:17-18). In that place, Abraham, Isaac, his wife Rebecca, Leah (Jacob’s first wife), and Jacob himself, according to his own wishes, were buried: “I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of the Hittites, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan.” (Genesis 49:29-31).
All this emphasizes the importance of burial and the fact that it should take place in a place that is beautiful but distant and separate from daily life. This is why the dead do not pass through the synagogue, as in Catholic tradition; instead, the dead are quickly taken to the cemetery, where a brief service is held.
It is considered meritorious to follow the funeral procession for a stretch, assist in the burial, and physically help cover the deceased with earth. The funeral procession and burial are preceded and followed by various readings and songs depending on custom.
Once the body is covered with earth, the immediate family enters the mourning period (aveluth), which lasts for seven days. During this time, it is forbidden to work, study (including Torah), or leave the house except for serious reasons. After seven days of strict mourning, the family may not shave or cut their hair for one month. In the case of close relatives, the Kaddish is recited every day.
