First 24 Hours After a Death in a Jewish Family: What to Do

The Moment of Death

When a Jewish person dies, the immediate family enters a state called aninut—the acute period between death and burial. An onen (a person in aninut) is exempt from all positive commandments: no daily prayers, no tefillin, no blessings over food. The sole focus is arranging the burial.

If you're present at the moment of death, the traditional response is to recite Baruch Dayan Ha'emet ("Blessed be the True Judge"). If the death happens at home, gently close the eyes and mouth, draw a white sheet over the face, and light a candle near the head. At a hospital, request that the staff leave the body undisturbed and covered until the funeral director or a shomer arrives.

Do not authorize embalming or cosmetic preparation. Traditional Jewish law strongly opposes routine autopsies, but legal mandates and a post-mortem examination highly likely to save another life are recognized exceptions. If a medical examiner mandates an autopsy (homicide, suspicious death, sudden unexplained death), Jewish law yields to civil authority—but request that it be performed with minimal disturbance under the guidance of a rabbi.

Hours 1-3: Three Calls to Make

1. The rabbi. If your family has a synagogue affiliation, the rabbi should be your first call. They'll confirm clergy availability, help navigate denominational questions, and coordinate with the burial society. If your family isn't affiliated, the local Jewish federation can refer you to a rabbi who works with unaffiliated families.

2. The funeral home. Call a Jewish funeral home (or a secular funeral home if no Jewish provider is nearby). They'll arrange transport of the body from the hospital, hospice, or home. Make clear immediately: no embalming, no cosmetic preparation, no viewing. The funeral director will begin the death certificate process—they compile the vital statistics from you and work with the attending physician to certify the cause of death.

3. The Chevra Kadisha. The sacred burial society needs to know a death has occurred so they can prepare for the tahara (ritual purification). In many communities, the funeral home makes this call for you. If not, your rabbi or the local Jewish federation can connect you.

Hours 3-6: Securing the Body

Shmirah (body guarding). Jewish law requires that the body never be left alone from death until burial. A shomer (guardian) stays with the deceased, reciting Psalms—typically Psalms 23 and 91. In larger communities, the Chevra Kadisha organizes volunteer shomer shifts around the clock. In smaller communities, you may need to arrange this through the funeral home (which may charge for professional shomer services) or coordinate family and friends.

Death certificate filing. The attending physician signs the medical portion. The funeral director completes the demographics section using information you provide: full legal name, Social Security number, date and place of birth, parents' names, occupation, marital status. The funeral director files the completed certificate with the local registrar.

Burial-transit permit. Once the death certificate is registered, the local health department issues a burial-transit permit. This is legally required for transporting remains across county or state lines, or for arranging a flight for burial in another jurisdiction. For interstate transport, refrigeration (not embalming) is the halakhically acceptable preservation method.

Hours 6-12: Funeral Arrangements

Casket selection. A traditional kosher aron is plain wood (usually pine), assembled with wooden dowels instead of metal hardware, with holes in the bottom for earth contact. Jewish funeral homes stock these. If using a secular funeral home, you may need to purchase one from a third-party Jewish casket supplier—this is your legal right under the FTC Funeral Rule.

Cemetery coordination. The funeral home contacts the cemetery to secure a plot (if one isn't pre-purchased) and schedule the opening. Confirm the cemetery can accommodate Jewish burial requirements: a kosher vault (concrete liner with the bottom removed or perforated) or no vault at all.

Service planning. Work with the rabbi to plan the funeral service—who will deliver the hesped (eulogy), which psalms will be read, whether there will be a chapel service or graveside-only. Gather the deceased's Hebrew name (and parents' Hebrew names) for the prayers.

Notify family and community. The 24-hour burial ideal creates pressure to notify people quickly. Out-of-town family may need emergency flights. Check: does the timing conflict with Shabbat or an upcoming holiday? If the funeral must be delayed, communicate the reason clearly to traditional relatives who may expect same-day burial.

The Aninut Restrictions

While you're in aninut (pre-burial), the restrictions are strict:

• No eating meat or drinking wine
• No bathing for pleasure
• No sexual relations
• No studying Torah for enjoyment (because Torah study is considered pleasurable)
• No greetings or small talk—you're focused entirely on burial logistics

These restrictions lift the moment the casket is covered with earth at the cemetery. At that point, aninut ends and shiva begins.

On Shabbat, aninut restrictions are partially suspended: you eat Shabbat meals normally (including meat and wine), attend synagogue, and observe Shabbat commands. The sole exception: marital intimacy remains prohibited.

Common First-Day Mistakes

Authorizing embalming by accident. Hospital and funeral home paperwork may include embalming consent as a default checkbox. Read everything before signing. Explicitly write "NO EMBALMING" on any authorization form.

Delaying the funeral home call. The 24-hour clock is running. Even if the funeral won't happen for two or three days (due to travel logistics or calendar conflicts), the funeral home needs to take custody of the body and begin refrigeration as soon as possible.

Not asking about costs upfront. The FTC requires the funeral home to give you an itemized price list before you make any decisions. Ask for it. Grief makes people vulnerable to accepting whatever's presented as "standard." Reported costs vary by component and location: direct-burial packages average $2,495 to $3,500, while the casket, cemetery plot, excavation, vault, rabbi, and other services may add substantially to the total.

The Jewish Funeral US Diaspora planning toolkit includes a step-by-step first-24-hours checklist, a phone call script for the funeral home, and a death certificate information worksheet you can fill out in advance so you're not scrambling for Social Security numbers and dates during the worst hours of your life.