Please refer to the full text of the highlighted points related to the following summary points.
1 Beliefs about the treatment of illness:
Healthcare settings should seek the advice of a rabbi when dealing with issues such as life-threatening prognosis, life support, organ donation, etc. (Fulltext of Essential Point 1 in Beliefs about the treatment of illness)
2 Ablutions and washing:
Orthodox Jews may wish to wash before prayer and before food. The bed-bound will need running water for this purpose. (Fulltext of Essential Point 2 in Ablutions and washing)
3 Food and the content of medicine:
Dietary requirement specified in Jewish Law, kosher, needs to be respected in food provision to patients and in the application of medicines. Settings can buy in kosher food; details of a supplier are provided at the end of the section. (Fulltext of Essential Point 3 in Food and the content of medicine)
4 Death-related religious rituals:
The Jewish Burial Society or, if unavailable, the Communal Rabbi should be contacted if there is any threat to the person's life. Numbers can be found at the end section. (Fulltext of Essential Point 4 in Death-related religious rituals)
5 Customs to be observed at death:
The Jewish Burial Society should be informed immediately on the death of a Jewish person so that they can prepare the body in the required customary manner. The Society will not be available during the Sabbath (details of relevant timing provided under Religious practices). The Chief Rabbi's office has agreed a protocol that in these types of circumstances the body should be taken, still clothed, to the mortuary and left until the community arrives. At least twenty minutes should elapse after death before moving the body. (Fulltext of Essential Point 5 in Customs to be observed at death)
6 Customs to be observed at death:
Jewish Law necessitates the carrying out of a funeral as soon as possible after death. A Death Certificate should be provided at the earliest possible opportunity thereby enabling arrangements to be commenced. (Fulltext of Essential Point 6 in Customs to be observed at death)
7 Cleaning and touching the body:
Healthcare workers should NOT wash the body. They should only perform the following essential tasks in all cases:
- Close the eyes of the deceased.
- Bandage the lower jaw to the head so that the mouth does not open.
- Straighten the fingers and limbs so that they lie parallel to the body.
- The body must be buried whole, which includes any item that has the hair, flesh or blood of the person on it. Leave in place any catheters, drains, tubes and wound dressings for the Burial Society to remove. Cover tubes, etc., with gauze or bandages and any other open wounds must be covered.
- Any excess dirt should be wiped away or washed off.
- Cover the body with a sheet.
- If death occurred during surgery, check with the Rabbi and family if hospital gowns, etc., that have blood on them should also be kept by the family for burial.
(Fulltext of Essential Point 7 in Cleaning and touching the body)
8 Foetal, infant and child death:
Foetuses miscarried after the first three months of pregnancy, infants and children must be buried under the full Jewish ritual. Contact the Jewish Burial Society or the Communal Rabbi at the numbers at the end of the section. (Fulltext of Essential Point 8 in Foetal, infant and child death)
9 Memento of a deceased child:
Do not offer the parents a lock of hair from a deceased child as the body must be buried whole. (Fulltext of Essential Point 9 in Memento of a deceased child)
