Jewish Funeral Guide

This is a general, practice-level overview. Observance varies across Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist traditions, and family custom matters too. Your rabbi or local Chevra Kadisha (burial society) is the right source for guidance specific to your situation.

Timeline

Jewish tradition calls for burial as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours, though in practice it is very commonly within 2–3 days to allow family travel. Burial is generally not delayed for convenience, but reasonable accommodation for immediate family to arrive is normal. Burial does not typically happen on Shabbat (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) or major Jewish holidays. When you contact a funeral home, tell them right away that you're planning a Jewish burial so they can work around these scheduling considerations.

Key rites

• Tahara: ritual purification and washing of the body, performed by the Chevra Kadisha (burial society) according to a specific, respectful procedure.
• Tachrichim: simple white burial shrouds, traditionally the same for everyone regardless of status.
• Shmirah: a tradition of not leaving the body unattended between death and burial; a shomer (watcher) stays with the deceased, sometimes reciting Psalms.
• Burial is traditionally in a plain wooden casket (aron) without metal, to allow natural return to the earth; embalming and viewing are not part of traditional practice.
• Shiva: the seven-day mourning period following burial, when family typically receives visitors at home; this happens after the funeral, not before.

What to tell the funeral home

• That you're planning a Jewish burial, and ask whether they work with a local Chevra Kadisha, or whether you'll need to arrange that separately.
• That you plan to decline embalming, and confirm this isn't required for what you're planning.
• Any Shabbat or holiday scheduling constraints, as early as possible. This can affect which days are available for the funeral.
• Whether they can accommodate shmirah (a family member or community member staying with the deceased) before burial.
• Whether a traditional plain wooden casket is available, if that's your family's practice.

Typical cost components

A traditional Jewish burial (plain wooden casket, no embalming, no viewing) is generally on the lower end of burial costs, since it excludes several higher-cost add-ons. The National Funeral Directors Association's most recent published national median (2023) for a funeral with viewing and burial was $8,300; a traditional burial without viewing or embalming is typically lower than that figure, though exact pricing depends on your funeral home and cemetery, including any Chevra Kadisha or synagogue-affiliated cemetery fees. Ask for an itemized quote. See our questions to ask.

Next: Questions to ask a funeral home · Paying for a funeral · The first 24 hours

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