Jewish Monuments | Page 2 of 2

5 Jewish Traditions Towards the End of Life

Posted on September 28, 2020 - 4:45 pm

In the Jewish tradition, caring for the elderly is of the highest priority. This means total respect, embracing their hard-won wisdom, and seeking knowledge when necessary. When the elderly are approaching the end of life, there are traditions that family members and close friends can participate in to provide a comforting presence and honor their legacies.

In this post, we’ll discuss the ways that Jewish traditions can comfort the elderly before death. Read on to find out more.

1. Reciting Healing Prayers

When the possibility of death approaches, your loved one or family member will likely be in distress or low spirits. Therefore, reciting or singing the Mi Sheberakh prayer will help provide both comfort and reinforce a sense of unity.

This traditional Jewish healing prayer is not just a way to encourage the healing process, but also to strengthen their spirits. Anyone can recite this prayer alone, or in the company of loved ones.

If you prefer spontaneous, organic prayers, then speaking directly to God may also help them feel at ease. Asking God to help your loved one feel at peace can be a powerful and cathartic experience.

2. Humming Traditional Jewish Music

In all cultures, listening to music is a powerful and healing experience. This is especially true in Judaism. Playing loved one’s favorite music can be a restorative and unique experience, especially during this distressing time.

Humming Niggunim, or Jewish melodies without lyrics, creates an atmosphere a lot like the time spent worshipping at temple. This can be important, especially for people with a heavy involvement in religion or religious ceremonies.

Other live music can also cultivate a positive, joyous atmosphere. If the setting allows for it, live musicians can create a soothing environment for your loved one. While this isn’t always a plausible option, you can still sing your loved one’s favorite songs to him or her.

3. Reading Psalms

While everyone tends to have different preferences, reading psalms may remind your loved ones of their values and ethics. Scripture can reinforce religious teachings, and prominent religious figures who may have influenced them. This reminder is especially important during such a difficult time.

Phrases from these psalms will help your loved ones to thank and praise God. In doing so, you can help give them the inspiration they need to persist and remain in good spirits. Many Jewish people have psalms such as this inscribed upon their loved one’s monument as an epitaph.

Specifically, psalm 121 is a fitting choice for anyone who’s suffering. In this psalm, the speaker acknowledges and thanks God for his protection through life. Reciting this (or a similar) psalm to your loved one will help them to find a source of protection in this troubled time. It’s common for these psalms to serve as epitaphs on a loved one’s grave.

Similarly, reciting the viddui prayer will give your loved one an opportunity to renounce his or her sins. Offering the consolation of repentance, as well as the idea that faith and trust, the deathbed-specific viddui prayer can have an important impact in these final days.

4. Discuss Funeral Arrangements

While this is a difficult topic to discuss with anyone, funeral arrangements are difficult, costly, and time-consuming to make. If you’ve been tasked with this responsibility, then bringing this up may be natural. However, it’s important to learn whether or not anybody has taken any steps toward making arrangements.

First, you should learn whether or not the individual has purchased a burial plot. These are expensive plots of land, and depending upon family, religious preferences, and military service, their preference might vary. You can then discuss the cleaning of the body, an important step in the Jewish faith. You should also find out if they ordered a Jewish monument. If your loved one would prefer cremation to a traditional burial, this is also important information.

5. Purchase a Jewish Monument

As we mentioned before, final death arrangements can be difficult and time-consuming to make. This is especially true with ordering a Jewish monument. If you find that your loved one wants to be involved, then request their input. While some may prefer not to focus on something so morbid, others may prefer to alleviate this stress from you.

There are several decisions that you (or your loved one) must make when ordering the Jewish monument. First, you must select the size and material for the headstone. Granite and bronze are popular choices, given their popularity and durability. Next, the epitaph should convey an important message to everyone who visits the grave. So, it should be carefully selected with the individual in mind. Jewish headstone symbols can also play a meaningful role in the monument’s layout. Finally, choosing whether to order a double monument (for a spouse that has not passed) is also an important choice to make.

Making these choices carefully will help you to create a fitting monument, which will help you to reflect when visiting.

Jewish Monuments on Long Island

At Fox Monuments, we’re dedicated to helping families and friends overcome the death of a loved one. Our high-quality headstones are designed specifically for each individual. We’ll work to streamline this process for you, giving you the time you need to take care of other concerns. Most importantly, we’ll help to make a difficult time less stressful and painless for you and your family.

Visiting a Jewish Monument: 7 Things To Know

Posted on June 24, 2020 - 3:33 pm

Stone on a black headstone for Jewish symbol

Within the traditions of the Jewish faith, there is a great deal of emphasis on family. Family presence during significant moments (Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, graduations, and so forth) is very important. When the time comes, raising a family is also a considerable honor. Unfortunately, sitting Shiva for a loved one is equally as important a tradition.

After a loved one has passed, visiting their grave can be a reminder of their life, their influence and your memories together. Read on to learn about when you should visit a Jewish monument as well as the proper etiquette when doing so.

1. Traditional Jewish Headstone Visitation Policies

Historically, religious leaders told the Jewish people to avoid visiting a loved one’s headstone too often. There were two primary reasons for this advice. First, rabbis preferred to keep cemeteries a solemn and peaceful setting for grieving families. In doing so, they would not disrupt a family’s ability to have a full grieving experience, and send their loved ones to the afterlife.

Secondly, they wanted people praying to them and not the dead. At the time, many people thought that encouraging frequent grave visits would result in less devout members.

2. When Should You Visit a Jewish Headstone

Generally, it’s best to visit a Jewish headstone on days that relate to the cycle of life. For example, visiting your loved one’s burial place on the final day of Shiva or Sheloshim is the natural conclusion to the stages of Jewish mourning.

The Yahrzeit, or anniversary of a family member’s death, is also ideal for visitation. In fact, this is generally when the headstone unveiling ceremony is held, and the family views the headstone for the very first time.

There are other days that are ideal for headstone visitation. Many consider Jewish fasting or holy days to be particularly appropriate. Modern customs regarding Jewish headstone visits do not dictate a specific number of visits per year. Rather, people generally prefer to visit moderately throughout the year.

3. When are Jewish Headstone Visitations Discouraged?

While the concept of grave visitations is not looked down upon, there are some days where it’s inappropriate. For example, the middle days of Passover and Sukkot are, essentially, holidays meant to be spent joyfully.

Purim should also be spent in a joyful state. Therefore, visiting the dead would compromise one’s ability to be joyous.

4. Leaving Stones on a Jewish Headstone

What began as a cautionary practice in ancient times of Judaism has become a grieving tradition. To mark Jewish graves, mourners would leave piles of stones on graves (before the creation of headstones and monuments) as a warning to priests. Priests believed that being too close to a corpse would taint them somehow, and make them impure.

This practice also stems from a principle described in the Talmud, which details Rabbinic Law, regarding the soul. According to tradition, the soul remains in the grave, with the Jewish Headstone. So, families began putting stones on the headstone, in order to keep the soul close. Other interpretations of this principle involve keeping demonic entities away from the grave, and the soul.

And, some people believe that stones are a more permanent symbol of resolution and endurance than flowers. While flowers will eventually blow away or wither, stones will remain intact.

Finally, placing stones on a Jewish headstone is also a way to comfort a mourning family. Finding a headstone with many stones adorning it is a welcome sight, in that it signifies others have recently visited and paid their respects as well.

5. Blessing the Deceased

Upon entering the cemetery, those who haven’t visited a cemetery in thirty days must offer a blessing. Often called the Jewish Cemetery Blessing, this etiquette is a sign of respect for the deceased.

Rather than praying directly next to the headstone of your loved one, this prayer should be said inside the cemetery in general.

6. While Next to the Jewish Headstone and Grave Site

After reaching the grave site, there are a few common traditions to take note of. First, Jews who have become knowledgeable in ancient laws and traditions should study the Mishnah. This ancient text is the original collection of Jewish oral traditions. So examining and pondering this text while visiting your loved one is significant.

Next, it’s also common to recite chapters from the Book of Psalms. Psalm 119, which has alphabetized verses, often serves as a great starting point. It’s common to select a verse based on the letters of the name. Often, people place their hands on the headstone while reading the psalm.

Praying to God while next to your loved one’s Jewish headstone is a critical aspect of visiting a grave. However, it’s important to remember that this prayer should be directed toward God, and not your loved one. In some schools of thought, this is blasphemy.

7 Memorial Prayer

Finally, the Kel Maleh Rachamim is an extremely important memorial prayer. While its exact origin is unknown, it’s become a standard prayer for all memorial-related events — especially grave visitations.

Jewish Headstones from Fox Monuments of Long Island

When you’re saying goodbye to a loved one, the Jewish memorial purchasing process should not be difficult or stressful. At Fox Monuments, we strive to help each family through their grief by making this process as smooth, stress-free and simple as possible. We will create a beautiful monument to honor your loved one’s life, and an excellent tribute for you to remember them by.

How to Plan a Jewish Memorial Service

Posted on October 24, 2019 - 11:19 am

The death of a family member or close friend is always a difficult thing to accept. At Fox Monuments, we’ve spent years helping Long Island families through very trying and difficult times. We understand the grief that mourners feel. And we make every effort to provide the necessary support during this process. We serve our community by crafting beautiful Jewish monuments that honor the faith and the lives of loved ones.

Customs of the Jewish faith outline specific steps that families should take to overcome their sorrow. Arranging a Jewish memorial service, or memorial service of any kind, is not simple. And it requires a lot of communication and coordination. There are many Jewish practices immediately following death, and many that dictate the memorial service.

This post has been updated as of October 2019, from its original publication date of January 15th, 2015. It has been edited for consistency and updated information on our services.

Step 1: Contact Your Rabbi

Rabbis are the spiritual leaders of the Jewish community. Before ordering a Jewish monument, you should contact your local Rabbi. They can help you to organize the service. And they can help make the necessary connections.

Speaking with a rabbi can also help you to understand and accept your loss. They are the keepers of the Jewish faith. And they can provide the guidance and wisdom that can help you through.

Rabbis will also contact local funeral homes and cemeteries on your behalf. They can assist you in making contact with the necessary organizations. By helping you to make preparations, they can ease the burden.

The rabbi will also assist you in deciding who will sit with the body of the deceased until the time of the service. And this is one of the most critical traditions of the Jewish faith.

Step 2: Memorial Considerations

Memorial traditions can differ slightly, depending on family tradition and the sect of Judaism. One common tradition across these sects is for the family of the deceased to tear their clothing. This is a significant action that symbolizes their profound loss. It’s usually done at the beginning of the service. And with Jewish memorial services, there is a specific etiquette to follow.

The eulogy is another very important aspect of the memorial service. And usually, the eulogy is critical to memorial services of any faith. Before the service, the family should meet and discuss who will be giving the eulogy. Boasting or exaggerating the details of their life is not permitted. But it’s important to deliver a heartfelt and thoughtful eulogy. The best practice when composing a eulogy is to focus on their admirable qualities and contributions.

While deciding on who will deliver the eulogy, figure out who will be reading the psalms. And more often than not, close friends or family members are selected as the best options.

Step 3: Burial

Once the ceremony has come to a close, the bereaved will proceed from the temple to the cemetery. And many families prefer to limit the burial ceremony attendance to family only. However, it’s considered an honor when many attend a burial to pay their respects. Many people choose burial alongside their loved ones with family monuments.

There are several burial customs of the Jewish faith. The headstone is usually already in place at the time of the burial ceremony. But because of Jewish tradition, it is veiled. This tradition began a very long time ago, when it used to take weeks for headstones to be finished.

The headstone unveiling ceremony usually takes place one year after the burial.

Conclusion

At Fox Monuments, our primary goal has always been to provide as much comfort to mourning families as we can. A fitting Jewish monument is a central part of arranging a Jewish memorial service.

We take great pride in helping families through difficult times, and with minimal stress. Contact us to learn more about how we can craft a beautiful monument for your loved one.

How are Jewish Monuments Created?

Posted on September 10, 2018 - 7:08 pm

In the Jewish burial tradition, monuments play an important role in the grieving process. While they remain veiled until one year after the passing of your loved one, the Jewish monument is a place that friends and family can go to appreciate precious memories. Modern monument creation techniques allow for many features and a substantial amount of detail. This modern process helps to create a strong and fitting memorial for the deceased, and loved ones to appreciate it during visitation. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how we create Jewish monuments with the sandblasting technique.

The Sandblasting Technique Has Not Always Been Around

As previously mentioned, the Jewish unveiling ceremony is central to the memorial customs. It originated because, in ancient times, Jewish people would independently create memorials. This entire process was completed with only hand tools, requiring plenty of time and energy. So, after finishing this arduous process, they would proudly display the completed headstone to family during the ceremony.

The modern custom stems from that origin, and still allows families to appreciate the Jewish monument, and loved ones.

What is Sandblasting?

Sandblasting is a method through which people who work with stone can smooth it. This quick-yet-accurate process has changed the game for Jewish monument creators. There are four primary steps to the sandblasting process.

4 Steps to Sandblasting

1. Concept and Image Rendering Process

Before the stone sandblasting machine can do its job, the Jewish monument artist must have an idea in mind. To create a Jewish headstone, there are several choices that a family member or friend must make for the inscription. People must select how the name will appear, whether or not there will be an epitaph, and a picture, if they choose.

After choosing these important details, the Jewish monument artist then begins rendering the image with CAD software. This means formatting the various aspects of the headstone the same way that they will appear on the final headstone.

2. Creating the Template for Sandblasting

Once the final design has been rendered through CAD software, and accepted by the family of the deceased, the next step is building a template. For the headstone to have the maximum level of detail (and quality), the template must be highly accurate.

In order to create such a template, Jewish monument creators use a very specific printer. This printer will create a rough template, with the details of the design outlined. Then, the monument design artists cut out these outlined sections, which are weaker than the rest of the material. The Jewish monument artist generally uses a stencil in order to accomplish this. This ensures that the letters, headstone symbols, and all other features are clearly separated from the stencil. With the quality of the completed Jewish headstone in mind, we always create the headstone with the highest level of care.

3. Sandblasting

Now that the stencil has been created, it’s time for the Jewish monument artist to begin shaping the headstone. The first phase of this process is affixing the template to the headstone, generally using glue.

Next, the headstone is placed inside of a sandblasting booth. The Jewish monument artist stands outside of the booth, and directs heat to the specific areas of the headstone. In doing so, he or she can expose the unpolished layer of stone, creating the detailed sections of the headstone. And, the rest of the headstone will remain polished, creating a beautiful monument. The Jewish monument artist will sandblast some sections more than others, creating contrast. This process allows us to shape your ideal monument, and produce a beautiful final product.

4. Final Embellishments By Hand

After the bulk of the monument is created, the Jewish monument artist will refine these designs with hand tools. Using highly specific hand tools, the monument artist will add detail to certain parts of the design.

The Sandblasting Technique Won’t Work for All Designs

Unfortunately, there are some monument designs that are too complicated for the sandblasting technique. Some more complex images require an attention to detail that this machine simply can’t accommodate. Graphics that depict a person, or highly detailed images must be inscribed by the Jewish monument artist by hand.

Jewish Monument Design and Inscription

At Fox Monuments, we excel in helping you to remember your loved ones. Our monument artists are committed to creating headstones with an unparalleled level of detail. With your family in mind, we will create a monument that will last for years to come, and help others recall positive memories.