Hevra Kadisha Day is commonly celebrated in Jewish communities today, Adar 7. “Hevra Kadisha” or “Holy Brotherhood” is a special Jewish communal structure, which is responsible for the burial of deceased members of the community. In Dnipro, the Hevra Kadisha service is headed by Rabbi Shmuel Livshits.
Why exactly on the 7th of Adar? There is an opinion that it is customary to celebrate and congratulate the servants of “Hevra Kadisha” on the day of Moshe-Rabeinu’s death because he died and was buried by G-d. And it was the only case when a Jew died, he was buried according to all the rules, and “Hevra Kadisha” rested. This day is considered the unofficial holiday of this service.
One of the greatest commandments – “Chesed Shel Emet”, i.e. true mercy, is performed by the servants of “Hevra Kadisha” for those who have left this material world. They perform the burial in full accordance with Jewish traditions, and this mercy is true, because nothing is expected from the deceased in return, no gratitude. Always and everywhere this has been done by the most respected people. The welfare of the worker of “Hevra Kadisha” does not depend on the burial and the burial is not the main source of income, so that there is not that one Jew waits for the death of another Jew, so as not to violate the commandments.
In general, there are a variety of customs associated with the Hevra Kadisha in different communities. They vary depending on the historical period and the country. Did you know that among the most common customs are the following: the ministers of Hevra Kadisha make sure that every deceased person is given a burial place according to his merit (according to the way of life he led), and no one but the board can choose the burial place? And it is also their responsibility to make sure that a known righteous person is not buried next to a known wicked person, and that people who were enemies in life are not buried next to each other.
However, the exact rights and obligations of the Hevra Kadisha in each community are determined by a special written charter, a sample of which is found in the book Chesed Shel Emet.
The Jewish community of Dnipro and our website congratulate all the employees of the Dnipro “Hevra Kadisha” and its head Rabbi Shmuel Livshitz and wish them as little work as possible, so that the Jews of the city live long, healthy and prosperous lives.
