Their use dates back to Rabbi Simeon ben Gamliel II, who, in the second century CE, asked to be buried in inexpensive linen garments. Whoever heaps elaborate shrouds upon the dead transgresses the injunction against wanton destruction. The universal use of shrouds protected the poor from embarrassment at not being able to afford lavish burial clothes. Since shrouds have no pockets, wealth or status cannot be expressed or acknowledged in death. In every generation, these garments reaffirmed a fundamental belief in human equality.
Shrouds are white and entirely hand-stitched.
They are made without buttons, zippers, or fasteners. Tahrihim come in muslin or linen, fabrics that recall the garments of the ancient Hebrew priesthood. Tahrihim come packaged in sets for men and women. Regardless of gender, they include shirt, pants, a head covering, and a belt. Men may also be wrapped in a kittel , a simple, white ceremonial jacket that some Jews wear on Yom Kippur, at the Passover seder, and under the wedding canopy.