The Position of Jewish Law for the Rights of the Dead and Customary Traditions

The treatment of the dead involves many obligations for the people related to the deceased person. It is important to note that it the state of mourning for the dead person, no blessings or segulas that bring hope or happiness through the fulfillment of God's commandments can be followed.

One good deed that is seen as a mitzvah under Jewish law is to be a burial plot for oneself and loved ones while you are still alive.

In addition, in a dying person's last moments on Earth, he should address his children and compliment them and praise them as well as condone them for any of their wrong doings. It is also customary for a living person to engage in a discussion with a dying person about spiritual matters of life and death.

When a person is dying, nothing can be done to speed up that person's death. The dying person says the confessional prayer for themselves as they are about to die as well as the Shema Yisrael.

One of the most important things that a family of the deceased should do once their loved one dies is to contact the Hevrah Kadesha which is the Jewish burial society within a community. The family has the responsibility of making the funeral arrangements and the oldest son has the responsibility of closing the departed's eyes as he is entering the next world. This is symbolic because in this world you cannot see God but in the next world you can. With the closing of the eyes, the person can now see God.

The body of the deceased should be fully clothed and the clothing should not contain any clothing. The deceased should not be taking anything with them into the next lifetime because of the belief that everything will be provided for them in the next life. Once a person dies, they should not be kissed. After the face of the person has been covered once the person has died, the body is to be covered as well since it should not be seen. The face of the deceased person should be facing upwards and lying on their back so that their face is facing the sky and God.

The limbs of the deceased should be straight and not dangling. The person's body should also be lowered to the floor. This is symbolic of the person entering the earth. Nowadays more and more people are being buried above the Earth's surface. Jewish law states that the person must be buried below the ground.

From the moment that the person dies until the deceased has been buried, one member of the family must stay with the person at all times. This serves as a symbolic guarding of the body. This process is called Shemira. The other symbolic act of guarding the body is because a person's spirit and soul is believed to be hovering over the body until the body has been buried and the soul is in peace and can go to heaven. This also shows respect for the dead and the easing of the pain for the dead of the soul of the body not being left alone.

It is forbidden to eat any kind of food over the body of the dead person since they can no longer eat food and say a blessing to God. When a person is in a Jewish cemetery, they must tuck in their tsetset because the dead no longer have the privilege and responsibility of saying the blessing for it.

Finally, a person or family cannot get any kind of delight in sharing the news of a person's death. It is not supposed to be a form of gossip in the community. It is mourning for the loss of the death of the person and not something to be happy over. A Jewish person also cannot be cremated as the Jewish law states that a person must be buried with all of their limbs.