Judaism: Ritual Of Death

The body is now ready for casketing. Like in any business, there are some special secrets to casketing. According to Mitford, the right shoulder of the body has to be “depressed slightly to turn the body a bit to the right and soften the appearance of lying flat on the back.” Positioning the hands and feet is as important as everything that was done before. There are special rubber blocks that are used for this purpose. Finally, the body is placed in the casket as high as possible, and the mortician gives attention to the last details.

Different cultures, countries, religions, and community with various behaviors and rituals that guides their belief and action when a loved one pass away. Religious and spiritual belief, type of life after death, superstitious beliefs after death and beliefs towards the meaning of life are all based on tradition and death ritual.

Death is inevitable part of human experience, which is often associated with fear of unknown, separation, and spiritual connection. Death is an individual experience, which is based on unique perceptions and beliefs. Fear of death and dying seems to be a universal phenomenon, which is closely associated with apprehension and uneasiness. Death is allied with permanent loss, thus personal experiences of grief are similar in many different cultures. There are different mourning ceremonies, traditions, and behaviors to express grief, but the concept of permanent loss remains unchanged in cross cultural setting. With this paper I will identify cross-cultural perspectives on death and dying, and will analyze

The reason for this is because it is considered disrespectful to have the body of the deceased up for display to be viewed therefore the casket is shut and not reopened immediately following tahara. Americans, however, see a wake as an opportunity to say the last goodbyes (“Jewish Mourning”). During wakes in America there are flowers around and sometimes on top of the casket. It is mostly for decoration. In contrast, Jewish customs shun the use of flowers during the process of burial. This is because flowers are considered to symbolize life and during a funeral it’s about death (“Jewish Mourning”). During a Modern American wake, family members normally come together to pay respects to the deceased and send condolences to the bereaved. A day or two after the wake the funeral is scheduled. Another comparison in funeral customs between Modern Americans and Jews are how they carry out the

Today the Chinese population still follows these traditions with a few small exceptions of modern times. All elders are given respect in the Chinese society, those living or deceased. There is a question that still remains in this culture on how to prepare a funeral of unmarried adults and children. No respect is given to a person who died as a bachelor or bachelorette, or if they did not have children. They are not considered an elder and do not have children that prepare the funeral for them. Children are also shown no respect because they do not have anyone to prepare their death ritual. They are left at their funeral home and the family members preform these burials in silence. The children in Chinese families prepare funerals for elders. It is considered proper for the children of the deceased to go into debt in order to pay respect for the older people at the funeral. The body of the dead must be washed with care, dusted with talcum powder, and dressed in the nicest clothes from the personal wardrobe before being placed in the casket for burial. All of the other clothing that belongs to the deceased elder must be burned. The deceased is never dressed in red because it is believed that it will turn the corpse into a ghost. The body is placed on a yellow cloth with the face covered, and then the body is covered with a blue cloth. All statues of deities are covered with red paper and all mirrors are removed from site in the home when preparing the home for the death ritual. The mirror is removed so that no one sees the coffin in the mirror. If someone sees the coffin in the mirror, it is believed that you will have a death within your own family soon. A white cloth is hung in the doorway and a gong is placed outside the door of the home of the deceased. If the person who is deceased is a male, it is placed on the left side; if female, it is placed

Burial has long been considered an important component of death; it is the mourners’ final encounter with the recognizable, substantial body of the deceased. Every culture has to determine how to deal with the physical remains of the dead, to find a way to honour their memory, and to go on living in a society that is now deprived of one of its members. Burial traditions and practices have developed throughout history and around the world to meet this human need. This paper will examine Jewish death and burial practices from the Old Testament, the Gospels, and other New Testament accounts, as well as archaeological evidence from first century Palestine; this evidence, when compared to recent arguments against the burial of

As we all know death of humans has been one of the utmost mysteries we would all like to solve. Although the ancient Mesopotamia, Egyptian, and Hindu all believed in an afterlife, their understanding and celebration if any, seems to be a little different. Mesopotamians were afraid of death, although they believed in afterlife they also had strong belief about the spirits still being alive. The Egyptians had an understanding and outlook on death, in which they believed in an afterlife, but they also believed in preserving the body. However, the Hindu also had the same perspective on afterlife, they were also very religious, but the way they went about it was much different than those of Mesopotamia and Egyptians.

Death has always been and will be a topic that just a few want to talk, but since time immemorial man has worshiped their dead, and this is reflected in the various rituals and forms of burial. The anguish of death has been considered the deepest anguish of man. Death is the inevitable companion of life, is the final stage. It can occur at any age, suddenly or after a long illness. Despite knowing that someday we will have to die the death of a loved one is a terrible fact, very difficult to accept, that affects everyone around the deceased person. When the link with the deceased breaks, the suffering is so great, that they put into question the fundamentals of being, of human existence and our deepest beliefs, affecting significantly the basic family and social relationships.

Death is an extremely touchy point to talk about. In "Native Guard" a book of sonnets composed by Natasha Trethewey. In the works of "Graveyard Blues", "After Your Death", and "Myth" death was the primary theme. Everything that is lives must bite the dust its regular and everybody has their own interpretation of death. Some can acknowledge death as a feature of life and feel great about it.

This paper explores the many ways cultures deal with death, both before and after. Most cultures have different practices when it comes to rituals before and after death, but some rituals and beliefs are surprisingly similar. When it comes to health care, nurses need to be aware of any cultural needs of a client in this emotional time. Asking questions about what the patient and family want to happen is very important. For example, Muslims would like the same sex washing their loved one, and they would like the family to do it themselves. The nurse needs to know this to provide culturally competent care.

The reality that someone has been removed eternally from your lifetime is a large, unwieldy fact to come to terms with. However, the funeral provides a psychological point of closure so that healing may begin. As stated by Selected Funeral Homes, “…a loved one's death is much more of a process-requiring hours, days, and even weeks to fully believe the reality. Because this realization of death is not instantaneous, funeral rituals help people gradually accept that their loved one has made the transition from here to there.” This is an important point to ponder and internally understand in a world of instant gratification and resets. Often seen in the American pop culture of film, TV, and video game violence are the numerous deaths and gruesome ends that characters meet. It is all too easy to focus on the hero’s triumph, or hit the reset button one more time. It is a world of quick reward and feedback, and if that has not been achieved, you do it again until you are satisfied. It is critical to realize that there is a permanent “game over” for people and things in the real world in order to re-shift focus on coming together as a society to create and celebrate a shared piece of

Once the two are engaged, the two families exchange gifts, and the wedding ceremony takes place at one of the family’s houses, typically the groom’s family. Once the marriage has been official, the bride and groom will move to a new home. When death comes, the deceased is preserved, dressed in white clothes, and put in a casket in a funeral home. In Vietnam, once the funeral concludes, the casket is lifted to a certain cemetery for burial by a procession of close relatives on foot, no matter the distance. (The procession sometimes blocks roads). The departed is now revered by his or her descendants and, if he or she was prominent in society (e.g. a famous military officer, a professor, a scientist, et cetera), they may call on his or her spirit for guidance.

How are the customary funeral and mourning rituals of Judaism, Protestant Christianity, Roman Catholicism, and Islam similar and different? Judaism and Islam have similar funeral practices. Both Islam and Judaism appoint the responsibilities of the burial of the deceased within their communities. Both traditions require the dead be buried as promptly as possible. It is for the body to be buried on the same day of the death. Islam and Judaism forbid embalming and routine autopsies as desecration of the dead. However, both religions consider organ donation as permissible. Muslims are strictly forbidden from the process of cremation, while Jewish rules on cremation can vary depending on the denomination. Conservative Jews oppose cremation while the process has become an increasingly more popular and acceptable practice among Reform Jews.

Life After Death All of the major religions believe in life after death. However the ideas from religion to religion can vary greatly. I am going to look at Hinduism and Christianity, two religions that I have been surrounded by all my life, and the different perceptions they have of life after death, and then I will give my own view. "For certain is death for the born and certain is birth for the dead; therefore, over the inevitable thou shouldst not grieve.

After the funeral, it's time to move the body to the cemetery for burial. It is not recommended for Muslim women to attend burials due to the belief that women will easily break down. A grave is dug deeper than the deceased’s height. The body is laid in the grave facing