Traditional Jewish Law Governed Nearly

Traditional Jewish law governed nearly every aspect of the relationship between the living and the deceased from the moment of death until burial. The purpose behind the law so completely dictating this relationship was to protect not only the physical needs of the deceased but also the spiritual needs. This practice, however, has lost some of its appeal and many practicing Jews failed to abide by these practices, in fact, many practicing Jews had never heard of them. In recent times, it has become customary for most Jews to utilize the services of conventional funeral home services. Unfortunately, conventional nursing homes, even those that claim to be following strict Jewish laws fail to follow the strict metaphysical and personal elements that are required under the centuries old procedure that is identified as "chevra kadisha."

The process of chevra kadisha involves a complete dedication of volunteers who agree to follow specific protocols in regard to the deceased (Hitchcock). These procedures include a prescribed washing process where the deceased's head is washed first and then the washing continues downward with the right side being washed before the left and the front before the back. At each step of the washing process there are special prayers to recite and small talk between the participants is absolutely forbidden. The washing process is only the beginning of the process and it becomes the responsibility of those tending to the body to spend every moment with the deceased until burial. Merely attending the body of the deceased, however, is not the limit of the volunteers' duties. Throughout the entire process there are periodic prayers to recite and restrictions on the individual behaviors of the volunteers in not only what they say to each other but also what they say about the deceased. It is imperative that the deceased be referred to at all times by his name.

The aforementioned practices are only a small portion of the proscribed chevra kadisha practices. The practices which are dictated originate from different portions of the Bible and have been passed down. For instance, in Genesis 3:19, it is required that the deceased be buried in a wooden coffin as the verse states, "For dust art thou and to the dust thou shall return," and in Ecclesiastes 5:15 it states in relation to how the deceased should be dressed upon death that, "One leaves the world as one enters the world. Just as newborns are washed and dressed as they enter the world, so too the deceased are cleansed and dressed as they depart." This has been interpreted to mean that the deceased should be swaddled in white linen just as babies are when they are born.

These chevra kadisha practices and many others were in danger of being eliminated from the Jewish death rituals but there is a movement to restore these lost traditions and there is a growing movement among volunteers to restore these practices among practicing Jews. This movement is motivated by an emerging sense of mortality among baby boomers, a reaction against the insensitive practices being exercised by the funeral home industry, and a growing cultural receptivity to past spiritual practices.