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I haven't been to a funeral, especially a Jewish one, in years, which is very lucky. If I can remember, we said (in English) a few words about my departed Grandma, before saying a prayer in Hebrew. Cohens arent allowed in, and you remain standing. After the burial you wash your hands to spiritually cleanse.

We say G-d because we believe the L-ord's name to be holy and should only be uttered or written if praying or teaching someone to pray. Using the Name otherwise is considered disrespectful, if not sinful.

Oh, thanks for the info~! But, may I ask, what's a Cohen?

And oh, I always wondered why you guys did that! ^^; I hope you don't find it offensive if I say God instead of G-d?

@Nuf - I agree that God decides who should pass on and who shall stay, yet, it's a funeral, so won't there be some tears? Alo, will I wear a Yamaka?

B"H
I have been to a jewish funral before however it was very conservitive. I do know that you dont wear all black. I also know that you do not bring flowers. You instead bring rocks. XD thjats all I know. Sorry I cant be of more service......However I did not read the coments before me so they probable have already said this and everything I have missed. XD

B"H
My uncle is a Kohen, but I am afraid I cant explain what it means.

Cohen translates as Priest and Cohen is one of the original 12 tribes of Judea. Cohenim have the heritage of those of the high priests of the Temple of Jerusalem. The high priest himself is known as the Cohen Gadol, which translates as Great Priest.

Anyone who is a Cohen is a direct descendant of Aaron. Aaron was the first Cohen Gadol (Ex 28 1-2/Ex 29 4-5)

The other tribes are the Levites, which is my tribe. Levi traveled with Joshua into the land of Canaan. Levite are charged with maintaining the Tabernacle and being more Lay Ministers and advisers to the Cohenim.

The last tribe is the Tribe of Israel... which is all other Jews in the world who are not Levi or Cohen.

1. Cohen, or Kohein (pronounce KO-hayn; plural kohanim, ko-hah-NEEM): A direct descendant of Aaron, the brother of Moses, along the male line. Kohanim are a sub-tribe, a smaller subset of the tribe of Levi (pronounced LAY-vee, plural L'viim, luh-VEE-eem or luh-vee-EEM).

2. If the deceased was Jewish, it would be most appropriate to wear a head covering. A kippah (Hebrew; Yiddish is yarmulkeh from the Polish word jarmulka, meaning 'little cap') is probably the best for a boy or man, but any reasonably formal hat will do, like a fedora or a bowler. For a woman, a head covering is only required if she is married, and any head covering will do if it doesn't clash with her outfit.

3. Bringing flowers has two functions. One is to cover the scent of a decaying body. That's not needed at a Jewish funeral, because Jewish law requires the body to be buried as quickly as possible, generally within 24 hours unless some of the close family have a long distance to travel to get there, or unless it would take place on Shabbat, in which case the funeral may be delayed. In any case, it's not long enough for the body to begin to decompose. The other function of flowers is to cheer and console the survivors and beautify the surroundings to distract the mourners from their grief. Jewish law and philosophy are that one shouldn't try to distract mourners or delay/alleviate the grieving process. Grieving is a very important thing that needs to be honored and acknowledged, not ignored or made 'pretty' by sweet flowers.

4. What to wear: In addition to a head covering for men, boys, and married women, wear somber clothing. All black isn't required, but don't go in a Hawai'ian flowered shirt and Bermuda shorts, either. Be solemn and dignified in your appearance and in your behavior.

5. Keep it simple. "I am sorry for your loss. I miss her, too." If you want to express consolation, remind the chief mourners (the deceased's spouse, parent, child, or sibling) that she had a positive impact on the world, on those who knew and loved her. It would be very traditional, and also very loving of you, to say "The memory of the righteous is a blessing."

6. We don't need to be told that if the deceased had only accepted Jesus, she would have gone to heaven, but now she's burning in hell. We don't have hell. For that matter, we don't have heaven. Those simply aren't a part of Judaism. Jewish thought is that when we are to be born, a piece of the divine mind 'splinters' off from the whole and is put into the body prepared for us. When we die, that divine spark simply returns to its ultimate source. There's no heaven, no hell, no punishment or reward. When we do wrong things, it is because we are fallible, and we know that our loving Sovereign God will forgive us because of the love he has for us, not punish us for eternity because of a mistake that took a moment to make. When we do right things, we do it for the love of Hashem (God, G*D, G-d, "The Name"), not for the hope of reward. When we avoid wrongdoing, it is also for love of Hashem, and not for fear of torture after death. The carrot/stick, treasure/torture school of thought is none of ours.

7. There will not be a body viewing. Setting up a viewing of a dead body is considered a vulgar display, an insult to the body, which after all was holy enough to house a soul, a spark of the divine. We afford the body as much respect as if it were still inhabited, for the same reason that a monarch's crown is cleaned, polished, and kept safe when it is not being worn. Not because it will need to be used again soon, but because it was worn by someone special.

8. During the year of mourning that follows a death, it is customary to do two things. One is to donate charitable funds to a cause that the deceased held dear. The other is to undertake a course of study in the honor of the deceased, to show that you weren't just saying empty things at the funeral when you said "The memory of the righteous is a blessing." That statement means, "Because I knew my grandmother, because she encouraged me to learn, I want to learn about this other thing." It would be appropriate for you, for instance, to take an Introduction to Judaism course at a local Orthodox or Conservative synagogue. Learn a great deal more about what she believed, why she believed it, what it does and doesn't have in common with your own beliefs. Get to know her that way.

Thanks! ^^ We went to the funeral, and there were Yamaka's there for us to wear, so I wore it! (I've never worn one before!!!)

Then the... guy speaking spoke in Hebrew, then English, Hebrew, English, etc. And then we went to the cemetery and watched the lowering of the casket, and then took a shovel and threw dirt, one by one, on the casket. Then we went to their house and it's not Shivah!

It was a really fast funeral!