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Whether you’re in East New York, Brownsville, Ditmas Park or Bedford-Stuyvesant, Harmony Funeral Home is your best choice for attention to the details for proper kosher burial procedures. The team at this Brooklyn funeral home provides you and your family with everything you need to honor your loved one with a Jewish funeral in Brooklyn. Call one of the best New York funeral homes; they understand and respect the rituals and traditions steeped in the Jewish faith.
Where Can I Find a Place for a Jewish Funeral in Brooklyn?
If you’re looking for a traditional Jewish funeral in Brooklyn, the team at Harmony Funeral Home is not only knowledgeable about the Jewish rituals regarding death, they respect the differences between Orthodox, Liberal, and Russian Jewish funeral traditions. They proudly serve the Flatbush, Canarsie, and East Flatbush communities to maintain common traditions regarding death, such as:
- Burying the body as quickly as possible
- Leaving the body intact, meaning no autopsy or embalming
- Using Taharah, a purification process that cleanses the body
- Dressing the body in a special white outfit
All these rituals and traditions must take place before the burial. Harmony Funeral Home won “Best of the Best” awards from the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) and is recognized by the NFDA for excellence in funeral service. They’re available to assist you with everything from death certificates and financing to florists and transportation services.
What Does a Jewish Funeral in Brooklyn Entail?
A Jewish funeral service is like other types of funeral services in that there are traditional rituals and funeral etiquette that you’re required to follow. Depending on whether you need to follow kosher burial procedures or have a more liberal interpretation of the traditions, you may consider certain conditions, such as:
- Dressing appropriately
- Arriving on time to the synagogue or Brooklyn funeral home
- Leaving the casket closed, as it’s considered improper by Jewish custom to look at the dead
- Allowing close relatives of the deceased to perform Kariya, tearing the clothing over their chest, like a collar or pocket
- Wearing a torn garment or ribbon if you’re one of the deceased’s children
- Arranging a eulogy, called a Hesped, when family and friends share memories and their love for the departed
- Saying chosen prayers
- Bringing the dead to their grave, known as the Levaya, meaning accompaniment
If a grave site is too far away, the mourners must carry the casket at least six feet before it’s placed in the hearse. The Harmony Funeral Home team understands that the whole ceremony, from death to cleansing to burial, is to be done by the Jewish community, which is why families have trusted Harmony Funeral Home for years.
What Are Kosher Burial Procedures?
Kosher burial practices are as precise as the pre-burial rituals. Among each Jewish community is a group of special people called the Chevra Kadisha — meaning Holy Society — who are responsible for making sure that proper Jewish rituals and traditions are carried out, from death to burial. Some of the more common traditions include:
- Being buried among Jews only, in a Jewish cemetery
- Allowing only those of Jewish decent to touch the body
- Sitting for a seven-day Shiva — a mourning period
Returning the body to the earth is considered a community ritual and originally members of the Jewish community would fill the grave with their hands. Certain prayers are recited and then the community returns to their homes, while the deceased’s relatives have a Shiva, which refers to seven days of prayers for the deceased. The Shiva usually takes place in the deceased’s or other close relative’s home. It’s customary to visit during this time.
If you’d like your friend or relative to have a Jewish funeral with top-notch service, choose Harmony Funeral Home in Brooklyn, New York. They’re among the best funeral parlors in Brooklyn because they pay special attention to other communities nearby that include:
Harmony Funeral Home
2200 Clarendon Rd.,
Brooklyn, NY 11226
(718) 469-6666