The Tradition of Respecting the Dead

Ellen Meltzer Moment July 17, 2020

(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

n class="dropcap">For thousands of years, Jews have celebrated the same holidays, marked the same life cycle events and practiced the same rituals. Through plagues, pandemics and wars, Jewish communities have found ways to adapt their traditional practices to the events of the time. Today, with the spread of COVID-19, many Jewish traditions have had to change. Perhaps the most challenging to alter has been taharah, the sacred act of purifying the body and comforting the soul of the deceased.
Up until four months ago, when a Jewish person died, a team of trained volunteers from the Chevra Kadisha would conduct the taharah, usually at the funeral home in a special room. First, all extraneous materials on the body are removed. Then, the body is washed and purified. Water from buckets is poured over the body in a continuous flow analogous to the mikvah, washing away any suffering and pain the person experienced during their life. The deceased is then dried and dressed in tachrichim—a white linen shirt, pants and robe, similar to the robes the high priests wore on Yom Kippur. Read Full Article »

The Tradition of Respecting the Dead

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