Chevra Kadisha

British  

/ xɛvˈrɑ kɑdɪˈʃɑ, ˈxɛvrə kɑˈdɪʃə /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of Chevra Kadisha

literally: Holy Company

Example Sentences

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

For the last year, I had volunteered at my shul’s chevra kadisha, the society responsible for preparing the dead in accordance with our laws and customs.

From Literature

News of the shul being built across from the chevra kadisha, due to be complete by the end of summer.

From Literature

“You volunteer at the chevra kadisha, right? Did you see something that might suggest Yakov’s death wasn’t an accident?”

From Literature

In the last eleven months of volunteering at the chevra kadisha, I had washed old men who perished on the streets, workers killed in factory accidents, and children taken by illness.

From Literature