The St. Johns herald., 1889-03-28
JEWISH FUNERALS.
Curious Customs That Are the sasce Now
 as in tho Days of Moses.

! Tn their funeral rites and observances the Jews have preserved many of the most ancient customs Of their race, says the St .TGDles' Gczette. They still rcnd the upper garments in token of bereavement, as Jacob did when informed of the death of his favor ite son; they still scat themselves for seven days on the ground in sign of mourning as Job and his friends are represented in the Scripture to ilavc done. They still eat the nournCrs' meal, as their ancestors dld in Palestine: they kindlc the memorial light to comfort the departed soul, as they did, in an likelihood. ages before Judaism was known; and they still recite in public the mCurucrs' prayer, every repetition Of which according to r255inical nOtions-helD5 the deceased Q step further put of purgatoTy.
 The Jews rigdly exclude all relatives from the chamber of dying co-religioni5t. Only stran gers should be present when the soul leaves the body As soon as death oc CUTS all the vessels In the house containing water arc enptied. On the continent, in places where Jews reside, the emptying of the water vessels in the public roadway is the usual mode of notifying that death has occurred. The practice had it's origin, we gather from the raboinical books. in an Old World superstition that standing water in such circumstances became the abiding place Of certain evil spirits whose presence in the house was preiudicial both to the dead and to the living. In the interval between death and interment the Jews lay the corpse upon the bare ground with the feet toward the door. The body is covered, but nothing-savc occasionally little straw may be placed under it. Then the two big toes are tied together. On Sabbaths it i8 not, however, permitted to remove body on to the floor; it would be work. But as it is sometimes necessary that this should nevertheless be done, rabbinical ingenuity has c0ntrived means of accomplishing it without violating the sanctity of the day. loaf of bread i3 placed upon the corpse, and the two together are lifted to tie ground. It is held that only the bread has been moved, and this is permitted on the Sabbath.
 Two or three hours before the interment takes place, the ceremonial purifcation of the body known as the taidrG takes place. It consists merely in pouring seven def- nite measures of warm water over the body, while repeating the words: "I will pour upon you cleansing waters, and ye shall be cleansed of your uncleaEliness; for of all your iniquitiCs ] will purify you" The body is then placed in the coffin, at
 
 biicI. This klttel is, in Northern EuroDe, presented to q bridegroom by his bride on the day of their wedding, and is worn by him on certain occasions, such as the Day Of Atonemcnt and tho Passover Eve cele- brati3n. l. is made by the female relatives of tAc bride, bat she herself must not take part in the sowing Of t. In Poland, Galicia, and in Russia the bridegroom always wears tlsc dcalh garment under tho wedding can Opy during lhc performance Of the marriage ceremony. Besides the kittcl, the body is cnVcioped IT tie praying scarf or tG!itd used by the deceased during lile. When this is done the relatives arc summoned. One by orc they draw near and bend oyer the coffin: friend takes 6 sharp knife and makes Q slit in one of the outer garments Of the TnCUrner-on the right side if the de- ceased be Q parent, on the left if child The mOuTlCr himself then rends the gar nent according to tkC custom of the couH- try. In the East the Jews tear the vest ments clean across; in England it is only torn couple of fingers breadth. The rent must not be sewn up for month, and the mourning garment must be worn, for parent, fully eleven months. The Spanish and Portuguese lows rcnd their Undcrgar- mcnts Gs well Except among the German J Fs the last offices of the dead are performed by the members Of what are termed "Chcvrah Kadishah," CT " Holy Brotherhood" an or ganization formed in every orthodox con- gregation only for this purpose.
 Just as near relatives are excluded from the death chamber, so are females prohib- tied from attending funeral or intcrmcnt. Why this should be so 1t is difficult to say. The custom of excluding women cn such occasions is certainly not an ancient one, since we know from tho Talmud and later r2bbinical books that, of old, women joined in the funeral processions of their people chanting dirgcs appropriate to the cere- nOny. However, nowadays they are not permitted to join, and the obseQuies are attended by males only. h Northern Flu rope and iii parts Of Russia, q father is not allowed to be present Gt the interment Of the first child he is unfortunate enough to lose It is believed he will lose 6 second if he does; though this will not in itself suffice to explain the existence of so strange custom. The Polish Jews arc, however, peculiar in moro than this. It is tho uni versal belief of orthodox Hebrews that the resurrection of the dead will take place in the Holy Land, and therefore all bodies will have to make their way underground to 1diGSbliIC LttDAC liiC Lay u O GL5luGLj. ECO. to facilitate this task, the ''Chassidim, !" or ultra pious of Russia and Poland, put a fork in the hands of the deceased when he is placed III the ground-for collins are only used in the case Of a b'chor (irst bOrn), or q bohen (one Of pciestly family)- in order that he may dig bis way through the ground with it and thus reach tho Holy Land, where the resurrection takes place.
 On leaving cemetery-which is known as the bcthcIdn, "house Of eternity" or bs;h hGiln, house of life''-it i9 customary to pluck somo of the grass growing there and throw it over the shoulder without looking back, repeating the words ' Lila mOveth l netZach" Gle will destroy death foreYer). Primarily the plIcl1ing CT the grass had no connection with the formula that nowadays accom- paIies 1t; but tho orig inal symbolism of the act is forgotten, ike so many of the practices still extant in Jowry. On returning from funeral the ] mOurners take their seats on the floor, or on low hassOcks placed upon the floor, and partakc of the "mourner5' meal" This consists of hGrd-boiled eggs and dry bread and salt, which is always prepared by reighbOrS and is arranged in readiness for the party upon low stool. It must be eaten seated upon the floor, as indeed must all meals during the whole seven days of mourning.