Chevra Kadisha

British

/ xɛvˈrɑ kɑdɪˈʃɑ, ˈxɛvrə kɑˈdɪʃə /

noun

a Jewish burial society, usually composed of unpaid volunteers who provide funerals for members of their congregation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Chevra Kadisha

literally: Holy Company

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Black-clad mourners clutched bouquets of lilies as they filed into the funeral at Sydney's Chevra Kadisha, a Jewish society responsible for customary burial rites.

From Barron's • Dec. 18, 2025

Trained in Russia and Warsaw, he emigrated to Scotland in 1922 with his family and became cantor at the Chevra Kadisha synagogue in the Gorbals.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2022

Recovering and preparing a body for burial are traditionally done by the local chapter of the burial society called Chevra Kadisha, led in Pittsburgh by an Orthodox rabbi, Daniel Wasserman.

From Fox News • Nov. 1, 2018

Since she helped create the New Community Chevra Kadisha in Pittsburgh in 2004, Malke Frank has prepared dozens of bodies for burial.

From New York Times • Oct. 30, 2018

The Chevra Kadisha look upon such a deed as a Mitzvoth.

From Pictures of Jewish Home-Life Fifty Years Ago by Trager, Hannah

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023