The Ancient Origins of the Chevra Kadisha

address delivered by KJ member Zella Goldfinger upon the occasion of Zayin Adar, the yahrzeit of Moshe Rabbeinu and the day set aside to acknowledge all our beloved Chesed volunteers.

In our last weeks of Torah readings, we have been enmeshed in the story of the Hebrews in Egypt. One can see from their magnificent architecture and artwork, which is still with us, the Egyptians were preoccupied with death and the afterlife; the Pharaohs did everything they could to deny and disavow the ending of life. The ancient Israelites, in contrast, were concerned not with immortality, but with morality and one’s deeds in this world.

In Tanakh, in the biblical period, proper burial was of utmost importance. Abraham expended great energy and money on securing the cave of Machpelah as a family tomb for Sarah, his wife, and future generations.

As part of the second tochecha in Devarim, one of the punishments for abrogating the Brit is “your carcasses will be food for fowl in the air and beasts on the ground.” In other words, your body will be left unburied.Jeremiah, the prophet at the time of the Babylonian exile, insists on justice and righteousness and threatens, Jehoiakim, the wicked son of the good King Josiah, that forsaking the brit will result in his burial being like that of an ass - he will be “drawn and just thrown out of the gates of Jerusalem.”

The Kohen Gadol, the high priest, who ordinarily must never come into contact with the dead, is specifically obligated to involve himself with the burial of the mait mitzvah, someone who has no other person who can perform this mitzvah.

But what were the ancient Israelite burial practices?

Underground caves or chambers manually cut into soft, chalky rocks were used for burial, always outside of the city. Bodies would be laid on rock shelves, or on the ground, and when the flesh decayed, the bones would be gathered into a specific area, a pit, or placed later into stone ossuaries containing the bones of other family members. It was known as primary and secondary burial.

There was pottery, food and personal items also put in the shelves with the bodies.

Outside of Ir David, in Jerusalem, the area is ringed with remnants of these caves, and some of the more elaborate ones still remain intact from the time of the First and Second Temples.

The oldest piece of scripture we have, called a text witness, which dates from 600 BCE, before the Babylonian exile, is on a pair of tiny silver plates which contains the priestly blessing (written in the ancient paleo Hebrew script). It was found in Ketef Hinnom, in a burial site in south western Jerusalem, placed under one of the rock shelves, probably as an amulet. You can see these silver pieces today in the archeology wing of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

In Sefer Bereshit, when Abraham dies, he was “gathered to his kin”, which refers to the gathering of his bones and mixing them with those of other deceased relatives. There was a strong desire to maintain contact with one’s specific community after death, and so we hear Jacob, after blessing all his sons at the end of Sefer Bereishit, say, “I am to be gathered to my people, bury me with my fathers.” Even though Jacob has a lengthy period of embalming because he is still in Egypt, there is a 7-day mourning period, and he is eventually brought back and buried in the cave of Machpelach that Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite.

There was no cremation. The only exception is in the book of Samuel. When King Saul and his three sons are killed by the Philistines their bodies are hung on a wall in Beit Shean as the ultimate act of disrespect. The stalwart men of Jabesh-Gilad , a town that King Saul had saved, marched all night to remove the bodies and burn them, probably in response to the decayed condition. This was an act of loyalty, of chesed. After the bones were buried, the men fasted as an act of mourning, again for 7 days.

Coffins were generally not used, with the exception of Joseph, again because he is in Egypt. The bodies were wrapped solely in a linen cloth and carried on biers.

What were they wearing? We don’t really know, but when Samuel is raised from the dead by the witch of Endor, at the behest of King Saul, he is wearing a me’il: a drape, a wrap, or some type of outer layer which is what Samuel’s mother, Chana, brought him each year when she came to visit him at Shilo. There is no mention of tachrichim in Tanakh, except an oblique use of Tachrich (singular) in Megillah Esther describing what Mordechai wore as a wrap.

We learn tearing clothes, kriah, from Jacob. After he sees his beloved Joseph’s blood stained coat, and fears that he has died, Jacob rends his garment. We learn of the period of shloshim, 30 days, from how the congregation mourns Aaron’s death, after he was punished for the rebellion at the waters of Meribah.

In the whole of Tanakh, there is no comprehensive concept of the soul and its immortality.

When the word “nefesh” is used, it refers to a person, a living being. Upon death, the righteous, the sinners, and everyone in between go to She’ol, a dark, dusty and unpleasant place, sometimes referred to as a “bor,” a pit. Both words are used in Psalm 30, the introductory psalm to Pesukei d’ Zimrah.

The advantage of living a righteous life is that it will be long, and thus going to She’ol is delayed.

Jacob says, after seeing Joseph’s blood stained coat, “ I will go down to She’ol to my son.…” The idea of immortality of the soul, and the concept of Olam Habah occurs much later, converging with the influences of the Greco Roman world.

During the Talmudic period, we read of difficulties with cost of expensive shrouds, with the result that people would actually abandon the body of their family member. Rabban

Gamliel thereby decrees that he wants to be buried in the simplest of coverings and the community then follows suit. It was usually undyed linen, with specific knots to ward off the demons.

The rabbis were also concerned about embarrassing and singling out those who had died with bad odors due to intestinal problems, and so decreed that fragrances be placed in everyone’s wrapping cloth. They proclaimed that everyone be buried with the face covered, so as not to draw attention to the unhealthy appearance of the poor.

Musicians, torch bearers and professional mourners were employed. In the book of Jeremiah, God criticizes the people for forsaking the Torah and threatens to scatter them, and send a sword after them. God proclaims: “Call for the mourning women … send for the women skilled in grieving and wail for the people.” Ketubot 46b tells us “even the poorest man must have at least 2 flute players and one professional female mourner for a deceased daughter.”

The responsibility of taking care of the deceased devolved from the family to the community, and then to specific members of the community. In Moed Katan 27b we learn that a shofar blast announced the death of an individual in the town of Darumata, but when Rav Hamnuna came and looked around this town, he saw people working in their usual occupations and questioned why everyone in the town was not engaged in caring for the deceased. He was told, “We have groups for that.” Unfortunately, it is not very clear how these groups functioned and who was in them.

After the Talmudic period there is virtually no information about the practices of the

Jewish community until the middle ages.

The first known Chevra Kadisha was founded in Prague in 1564 by Eleazar Ashkenazi. There were takkanot, rulings, established in the next century that said that the Chevra was to take care of the whole community, not just family members of the Chevra itself, as had been the custom. The yearly Chevra Kadisha dinner was established; the members would fast on Zayin Adar and then have a very extravagant banquet with special dinnerware and end with the delivery of many sermons.

In 1619 a booklet called “Balm for the Soul and Cure for the Bones” was compiled in Venice by Leon of Modena, at the request of the Chevra Kadisha of Venice. They complained that there was a lack of information about prescribed Jewish death rituals, and no information for people who cared for the sick of the community.

In 1626 Ma’avar Yabbok, an incredible book was written in Mantua, by Rabbi Aharon Berakhia ben Moses of Modena ( a relative of the above mentioned Leon of Modena) and may reflect, among other issues, Ramban’s 13th century ideas of the soul and its travels. It contains the first mention of the prayer “El maleh rachamim” which beseeches God to bring the soul of the departed to Gan Eden. It also comprises many laws and customs related to sickness, death, burial and mourning rites, while being heavily steeped in Kabbalah.

The KJ’s women’s Chevra Kadisha was started in the 1970s by Tova Bulow and the late Dr. Nathalie Friedman, z”l. What is it that we do, in the KJ women’s Chevra when we are called upon to do a tahara?

We put on our protective garb and after we ritually wash, we say the Chamol recitation, using the proper Hebrew name of the mait, which is how we refer to the deceased.

The Chamol prayer asks God for a pardon of all sins, for redemption, for alleviation of suffering from misery and fire and, most importantly, for the ability to walk into Gan Edan, the resting place of the righteous. Rachamim, mercy, is requested over seven times in this paragraph. As we remove the clothing, bandages, and tubes left in from the hospital, we say verses from Zachariah which describe removing the soiled garments from the High Priest as he is being purified. “Behold, I have removed your iniquity and I will clothe you in fine garments.”

While washing the mait, we recite verses from Shir haShirim describing a person’s body in the most poetic and lyrical manner.

Before the actual tahara, which consists of ritually washing with “Tisha Kavan,” an unknown measure of water that we assign to three containers, we say verses from Prophets and Ketuvim as well as Mishna Yoma 8. The Mishna in Yoma deals with forgiveness before Yom Kippur, and we quote Rabbi Akiva who says, “ You are fortunate, O Israel….who purifies you? Your father in heaven” by “sprinkling purifying water over you.”

After drying, the mait is dressed in white linen garments that refer back to the description of the Kohen Gadol in Vayikra, as he makes yearly atonement for the holy spaces. It makes references specifically to the head covering, the enclosed pants, the ketonet and the gartel.

To dress someone is to comfort them, to protect them and to give them dignity. We treat each mait with love and honor and no matter how challenging the situation, we transform every mait into the Kohen Gadol. We sprinkle earth from Israel, place shards over the eyes and mouth, carefully wrap the sovev, the linen sheet over the mait and then we pause. We ask for mechillah, for forgiveness, for any inadvertent disrespectful act that we, the Chevra may have committed. It is a very profound moment.

The cover of the Aron, the casket, is closed, and we repeat verses that include the priestly blessing, poetic verses alluding to protection, and grace freely given. Here there are no rebukes from the prophets, only words of consolation.

As the Aron is wheeled out of the room, more verses from Bamidbar, Shmot and Psalm 91 are said, ending with the verses concerning yitziat Mitzriam, leaving Egypt: “The Lord is a warrior, ….The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

Our Chevra is composed of dedicated women, all very different ages and personalities, but who all share the understanding that this is sacred work. It is an honor and a privilege to be able to do this mitzvah with them. We welcome anyone interested to join us.

Isaac Pollack, who is a veritable fount of knowledge, and an exceptional human being, graciously shared many sources and ideas with me. I would like to end by expressing sincere gratitude to Riva Alper, who despite a very difficult year, continues to be the glue that keeps the chevra together. Thank you.

Yoetzet Halakhah

Julia Baruch serves as the KJ Yoetzet Halakhah. This position of great responsibility falls to a woman with recognized expertise in the field of Taharat Hamishpacha and women's health issues who can advise women on topics such as niddah, fertility problems, and sex education for teens. Julia is reachable by phone at 929274-0628 or email at JB.Yoetzet@ gmail.com.

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