The Tahara | Digging the Grave |

The Tahara
This ceremony, performed to show respect for the deceased, includes washing the deceased's body, dressing him, and preparing him for burial. Members of the chevra kadisha, called mitaskim, perform these tasks. Between 3 and 6 people work on each body, with only men doing the tahara on men and only women on women. These mitaskim show the utmost respect for the deceased, never forgetting that every man was created in the image of God.

The tahara is done in a specially designated room, generally located near the funeral home. The deceased is placed on a special plank, with his legs pointing in the direction of the door and his head toward the interior of the room, symbolizing that upon death, man abandons temporal existence and the impurity symbolized by the legs, and what remains is his soul, symbolized by the head. While the mitaskim wash and clean the body they recite verses related to these processes such as, "Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean, from all your uncleanness and from all your idols, I will cleanse you" (Ezekiel 36:25). These verses are recited both because of their relevant content and to prevent the mitaskim from idle talk while the deceased lies before them. The mitaskim are careful to maintain the deceased's dignity, covering his or her body while they wash and comb the hair. They cut the deceased's nails and wash him in approximately 7 liters of water. The custom in some locales concludes by immersing the deceased in a ritual bath (mikveh).

After bathing him, the mitaskim dress the deceased in special burial garments made from simple white cloth, called tachrichim. The tachrichim include pants, shirt, cloth shoes, and a hat. On top of the clothes, the mitaskim wrap the body in a large white cloth, called a sovev. In Israel, it is not customary to wrap the deceased in a tallit, as is done outside of Israel. If the family requests, the deceased can be wrapped in a tallit during the funeral, but it will generally be removed before burial.

Digging the Grave
The chevra kadisha is responsible for designating a grave site, digging the grave, and bringing the necessary equipment to the funeral - a bier to carry the deceased, shovels to cover the grave, etc. The chevra kadisha assigns grave plots based on considerations of time and space - in general two adjacent graves are not dug in one day in order to insure each family its privacy - as well as considerations related to the deceased's status: kohanim are buried close to the entrance of the cemetery, since traditionally kohanim refrain from entering cemeteries. Certain cemeteries allocate separate sections to different Jewish communities, and to burials with certain common characteristics, such as miscarried fetuses, people whose Jewish lineage is in question, or non-Jews.

The Tahara | Digging the Grave |