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What To Notice When Visiting Jewish Funeral Rites
Just like all communities, Jews have certain customs that they observe when they are burying a loved one. The strictness of the customs observed normally depends on whether the family of the deceased are radical Jews or conservative Jews. The customs carried out at a Jewish funeral are meant to provide respect to the dead person as well as the mourners.
The burial should take place within twenty four hours after death. However, there are some instances that may prevent this from happening. If close family members of the deceased are based in far away location, the burial will have to be delayed until the relatives have arrived. However, the funeral should generally be carried out as soon as possible.
Open caskets are not allowed at memorial services. The casket chosen should be simple and totally biodegradable. This means that it should be made purely out of wood. Even nails are not allowed, as they are metallic and can't decompose.
Preservation of the body through embalming is not allowed, unless demanded by local laws for health reasons. This is to allow the body to decompose naturally. If the family wishes, they can call a pious society of men and women who have devoted themselves to the task of cleaning and dressing dead bodies as required by tradition.
The burial ceremony does not take a long time. It can be completed in less than half an hour. Flowers are normally considered as frivolous adornments, so they are often avoided at burials. If you wish, you can choose to have a small floral tribute, as long as the officiant is not opposed to it. Mourners cannot talk to the attendees until the whole burial ceremony is over.
At the conclusion of a Jewish funeral, mourners pass through the middle of the parallel line formed by the attendees. The attendees recite consoling words to the mourners. To symbolically cleanse themselves, mourners can wash their hands when leaving the graveside.
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