Bereavement in Judaism
Jewish mourning practices
Bereavement in Judaism (Hebrew: אֲבֵלוּת, romanized: ʾăvēlût, lit. 'mourning') is shaped and governed by a combination of Jewish custom (מִנְהָג, minhāg; pl. מִנְהָגִים, minhāgîm), observations of figures in the Hebrew Bible, and mitzvot (Biblical Hebrew: מִצְוֹת, romanized: miṣwôt, lit. 'commandments'; sing. מִצְוָה, miṣwāh) derived therefrom in Judaism's Rabbinic literature. Chazal—the rabbis and scholars whose discussions are recorded in the Mishnah, Talmud, and Tosefta—explicate mourning Halakha in, for example, Mo'ed Katan 14b–28b, Sotah 14a:4, Berakhot 6b, and Sanhedrin 46b. The details of observance and practice vary according to each Jewish community.
Mourners
In Judaism, the principal mourners are the first-degree relatives: parent, child, sibling, and spouse. There are some customs that are specific to an individual mourning a parent. Religious laws concerning mourning do not apply to those under thirteen years of age, nor do they apply when the deceased individual is aged 30 days or less.
Upon receiving news of the death
Upon receiving the news of the death, the following blessing is recited:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, דַּיַּן הָאֱמֶת.
Bāruḵ ʾattā ʾadōnāy ʾelōhēnû, meleḵ hāʿolām, dayyan hāʾemet.
Blessed are you, YHWH, our God, king of the universe, the judge of truth.
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