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Death Belief
- Form of worship
- Elements of the individual
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Hebrew Form of worship:
- Monotheism
- by about 150 B.C. beliefs were basic
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Monotheism
Belief in one God
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The form of Monotheism worship developed as a set of organized beliefs by when?
the end of the Babylonian Captivity (597 to 547 B.C.)
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Yaweh
Hebrew's central figure of worship
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150 B.C. Hebrew's basic beliefs;
- 1. upon death, souls of he righteous passed directly into a blessed existence
- 2. souls of the wicked were sent into a state of punishment
- 3. both the righteous & the wicked would be raised from the netherworld at the day of last judgement to receive final rewards or punishments
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Hebrew elements of the individual:
Basar & Nefesh
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Basar
referred to the flesh
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Hebrew's feel what should be returned to dust
the flesh
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Nefesh
referred to the breath, spriit or soul of the individual
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Where does the Nefesh reside
in the blood in life
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In life what would they also have in death
emotions, sexual desires, fear, sadness, etc.
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Concept of the Afterlife:
- Sheol-they believed to be the netherland or "land of the Dead"
- and that the Nefesh would rise from the body & go to Shoel to remain until judgement day
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Preparation of the body under Hebrew custom:
- 1. Those involved in the preparation of the body
- 2. process of the body treatment
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Chevra Kaddish or Bodywashers
were considered very important indivdiuals assigned the care of the dead
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Process of the body treatment:
- Closing the mouth & the eyes
- Bathing the body
- Anointing process
- Dressing the Remains
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Closing the mouth & the eyes
- by tying a scarf around the head to hold the jaw in place until rigor set in
- & by using an adhesive powder on the eyes
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Bathing the body
The washing process was considered a very important step in preparing the body
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Anointing Process
They used spices & oils which to anoint the body but only those, which would prevent decomposition
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Dressing the Remains
- Body would be dressed in the finest clothing owned by deceased
- This practice was important due to their belief of being more easily recognized in the afterlife
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The Practice of final disposition:
- Creamation concept
- Burial practices
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Creamation concept
it wasn't practiced because they felt that fire would destroy Nefesh
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Burial practices
- *generally too place at sundown on the day of death due to hygienic necessity
- *early Hebrews buried their dead without coffins( it came into limited use after the Babylonian Captivity)
- *The body would be carried tothe place of interment on a Bier
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Types & places of Burial
- Trench Graves
- Sunken Graves
- Chamber Graves
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Trench Graves
utilized mainly by the poor & simple consisted of placing the body in a shallow trench & over that a mond of earth was shoveled
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Sunken Graves
- *a shallow grave over which a slab of stone would be placed as the cover
- *the stone slab offered more protection from predators or grave robbers
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Chamber Graves
- the most common type of grave used
- man-made caves carved in the side of a hill or mountain or natural caves discovered & found to be suitable
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Grave Identification:
- Early Practices: indicated protection of the dead
- 1. didn't belive in marking their graves with any identification
- 2. no dates of birth or death or the name of the deceased were used
- 3. no flowers were allowed to adorn the grave
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Mourning customs of early Hebrews:
- Behavior of the Survivors
- The use of professional Moruners
- The offering of sacrifices
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Behavior of the Survivors
- *Kriah referes to the practice rendering or tearing ones garments as a sign of mourning
- *the removal of all clothing w/ the exceptions of a loincloth of goat or camel hair & remain that way until the burial rites were completed
- * to leave the head always covered either by shawl or you could use the hands
- * wearing a Yamaka
- *bare feet
- *cutting or scratching ones flesh, a sign of mourning, its forbidden now
- * me would shave their head, if more grief striken then they would shave thir beads
- *throwing oneself in the dust, now sitting in the dust or placing dust upon the head
- * fasting from food & drink; began at the moment of death & terminated at the and of the day of death
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The use of professional Moruners
- to increase he wailing volume of the family
- also to recite poems & verses about the deceased
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The offering of sacrifices
the first-born son had the responsibility to bring sacrifices tothe grave in the form of food & drink sotat his deceased father could enjoy his final rest
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