| Aninut |
First stage of mourning – the period between the death and the funeral |
| Chessed shel emet |
a true act of kindness (literally, truth) – a particularly special mitzvah |
| Chevra Kadisha |
holy brotherhood society |
| Cohenim |
Cohens, the priestly class |
| (K)El Maleh Rachamim |
memorial prayer |
| Goses |
a dying person in his/her final moments |
| Halacha |
Jewish law |
| Hesped |
eulogy |
| Kaddish, Mourners’ Kaddish |
special prayer repeated by mourners |
| Kria |
ritual tearing of clothes to show a sign of morning and loss of loved one |
| Kvurah |
burial |
| Levaiyah |
lit, accompanying the deceased – refers to the funeral |
| Matzevah, hakamat matzevah |
lit, the raising of the headstone – refers to the consecration |
| Minyan |
group of 10 Jewish men (over 13 years old) necessary to conduct a prayer service |
| Mitzvah |
good deed |
| Onen |
mourner during the aninut period |
| Pikuach nefesh |
the saving of a life |
| Seudat Havra’ah |
condolence meal |
| Shabbat |
the Sabbath |
| Shechinah |
Divine Presence |
| Shiva |
1st stage of mourning, which lasts seven days |
| Shloshim |
2nd stage of mourning from end of shiva to the morning of 30th day following the burial |
| Shmira |
Watching over the body, from the time of death until the burial |
| Shomer, shomrim |
watcher/s who ensure the deceased is never left alone |
| Tachrichim |
plain white shrouds used to dress the deceased |
| Tahara |
ritual cleansing of the body, performed by the Chevra Kadisha |
| Tallit |
men’s prayer shawl |
| Tzedakah |
charity and righteousness combine in the giving of money to help others |
| Tzitzit |
strands of thread used when praying, tied to the tallit’s edge |
| Tzur |
stone, rock, sometimes used to refer to G-d |
| Yahrzeit |
anniversary of a death |
| Yom Tov |
Jewish holiday |
| Yud-Bet Chodesh |
the 12 months or final stage of mourning from the burial |
