Death and Burial

When the first Jewish settlers arrived in 1733, shortly after the establishment of Georgia, they didn’t first found synagogue, hire a rabbi, or even purchase prayerbooks. According to Jewish tradition, before upholding any other tradition, a Jewish community must first create a cemetery space. How we treat the dead speaks to how we treat the living.

The Jewish community established its first cemetery on the intersection of Bull Street and Oglethorpe Street. A beautiful monument now stands on that spot to honor their memories. When the city covered over that area, two half-brothers, Mordecai and Levi Sheftell, built two cemeteries near to each other, one for several Mickve Israel families and one “for all persons whatever professing the Jewish religion.” These cemeteries were later closed, after which, we founded cemeteries at Laurel Grove Cemetery and Bonaventure Cemetery.

We believe it is our responsibility to serve the Jewish community in every way possible. Rabbi Haas and Cantor Rachel will officiate at both funerals for members and their family and non-members and their family, at our cemeteries or any other ones as well, whether or not, the deceased is Jewish or non-Jewish. The merit of cremation remains a debate in the Jewish world, but Rabbi Haas and Cantor Rachel will also officiate at funerals of loved ones who have been cremated. 

If you have any questions about the burial process, please contact Rabbi Haas or Cantor Rachel

Some basics of traditional mourning and burial practices:

• A person who hears of the death of a parent, spouse, sibling, or child is referred to as an onen (literally “someone in between”) until the funeral.
• The words “barukh dayan ha-emet” (“blessed is the true judge”) are uttered upon hearing the news, and a garment is torn.
• The body of the deceased can be washed and dressed for burial with great care by the hevra kaddisha (the sacred burial society).
• The funeral–which may take place at a funeral home, in a synagogue, or at the graveside–usually includes the short prayer El Maleh Rahamim (“God full of compassion”), as well as the recitation of psalms, and a hesped, or eulogy.
• The burial is framed by other liturgical elements, including the recitation of a special version of the Kaddish prayer, often thought of as the “mourner’s prayer.”
• Mourners and others participate in covering the casket with dirt. Mourners leave the graveside first, and others say to them the traditional words, “May God comfort you among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”
• Mourning takes place in several periods, each successively less intense. It includes shiva, seven days during which mourners are visited at home by family and community, and participate in prayer services held at home; sheloshim, the first 30 days of mourning, during which mourners return to their normal routine but refrain from many customary pleasurable activities; and, for those who have lost a parent, 11months of aveilut (mourning), during which Kaddish is recited daily.
• A memorial stone may be erected or uncovered at any time; an “unveiling” is often done a year after the death.
• The anniversary of death, or yahrzeit, is observed each year, and the deceased is remembered four times annually during Yizkor services (from the word “to remember”) on the holidays of Passover, Shavuot, Yom Kippur, and Shemini Atzeret. (In many communities, Yizkor is also said on Rosh Hashanah, the second day of Sukkot, and the second day of Passover.)

Information from MyJewishLearning.com