Grigorescu, Felicia: Forme de artă în cimitire evreieşti din nord-vestul Romaniei (Satu Mare, 2013)

Glosar de termeni

The burial ritual is strictly respected in Judaism, the ritual washing procedures - tohara (taharah)- is made in a certain order, all have profound ethical meanings. Here it is the description of the procedures in the correct order, on the occasion of a painting description with a scene for preparing the deceased for the burial ....The painting’s theme is the washing of the deceased. The ethical purpose of the washing is that the earthy remains - as seriously as possible - to be washed in details and scrupulously. Meanwhile, people are uttering prayers from the Biblical psalms from the Song of Songs where there are verses concerning members to be washed. This heritage continues up to now... Next, the ethical, religious code guides the ones who take part in the washing of the deceased person: this custom is similar to the one for the burial, it is taken white linen, in order to be beautiful, because they believe in resurrection, because the rabbi Chija, the son of Joseph, says that the humble ones will be resurrected someday with their linen and the man must be buried with his burial scarf7.(Talmud, Ketubot 111b) The order of washing: first all the body, head, hands, legs and his/her hair is combed. They must pay attention not to turn the deceased with the face up, because that could be humiliating.

Among the ritual baths for the deceased which have been preserved, one can mention the one in the Neologue cemetery from Oradea. The entrance is made through the chapel. It is a room of average size, about 3x4 m. There is a lavatory in its centre, which comprises two connected elements: a table for washing and a reservoir for water drainage (Pic.. 57) The table for washing is a stone (concrete) holder set on two strong legs, of lower height than an average table, easily bent from top to bottom, whose human - sized concavity is a system of hollows of a rare feather shape, which descends towards the connected element, to the reservoir (40-50 1), from the bottom of the washer. The reservoir has an inlet for drainage and it is positioned on the boarded floor. It is about 80/200 cm, in size.

For Ashkenazi Jews this room is called “the house for tahara” and for the Sephardi Jews rehiţa, rehiţat ha-met means in translation the closet of the dead.

It depends on the community’s custom, the body of the deceased is covered in tahrihin, or in a coffin or, as in the old Israel and at some Saphardic communities, directly on the ground. The coffin has on the lower part some holes thus the deceased is in contact with the earth, according to the Bible. 47

47Schőner Alfréd, Te érted.... Bookmaker Kiadó, Budapest, 2004, p. 82 ... A kép témája a halottmosdatás.

...A halottmosdatás etikai célja az hogy a földi porhüvelyt - a szó legteljesebb értelmében - részletes alapossággal megfürdeti. Közben ólján, a bibliai Énekeket énekéből öszeállitott imákat mondanak, amelyeknek mondataiban az egyes megmosdatandó testrészekre utaló kifejezések is benne foglaltatnak. E több évszázados hagyomány ma is él.

A vallásetikai kódex utasitja a szertartásban résztvevőket: Az a szokás, hogy a halotti ruhákhoz fehér vásznat vegyenek, hogy szépek legyenek, és hogy hisznek a holtak feltámadásában, mert azt mongja Ráv Chija, Jószef fia, jámborok valamikor ruhájukban fognak feltámadni, s a férfit imaköpenyben kell eltemetni. - (Talmud, Ketubot 111b) A mosdatás sorrendje: megmossák az egész testét, a fejét, a kezét, a lábait, haját megfésülik. Ügyelni kell arra hogy ne fordítsák arcára a halottat, mert az megalázó volna.

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