Grigorescu, Felicia: Forme de artă în cimitire evreieşti din nord-vestul Romaniei (Satu Mare, 2013)
Glosar de termeni
II.A.4. Hevra Kadişa. The First Hevra Kadişa in the North-West of Romania Hevra Kadişa, in word by word translation means holy society or brotherhood, and its role is to help and to be responsible for keeping a close watch over the deceased, and to fulfil all that is needed for the deceased (the ritual wash ‘) including here those who have no family, and the duty for taking care of the cemetery. These societies were the warrantors for the accurate development of the Jewish burial ritual, because all procedures, institutions, social procedures justify themselves by referring to the text and the interpretations of a text48 49 50. The funeral societies have existed since the period of the Amorainr0 (II century BC- V century AC) the origin of naming them being Aramaic, not Hebrew. Such societies are mentioned since XIII-XIV century in Europe, Spain and Germany,51 52 53 54 also. The society comprises 18 members. They often had certain advantages concerning burial places which could have been booked beforehand, and receiving the burial ritual"3 and a special treatment"4. The Rabbi of the Talmud tells us that the funeral of a man, or seeing the man on his last journey, is hesed sei emet (the goodness, kindness of truth or the true goodness, kindness). It is told thus because a mitva is the only thing that a man does in his life for his fellow man unconditionally, not asking for anything in return55 56. The activity of the brotherhood lasted more time than the acknowledgement of the death and the burial of the deceased, because the responsibilities of the members begin with the deterioration of the moribund health and end after the funeral with the solace and helping of the family in the first part of the mourning shiva"6, which lasts 7 days; thus the family is not obliged to work for money in this period. Here are the tasks of the brotherhood taken from a memo to the law court, in order to recognize the juridical personality of the Uniunea Sfanta Izraelita / The Holy Israelite Union/ Chewra Kadicha/from Salonta Mare: a./ To offer medical aid, medicine on the union's expense, even pecuniary aid to the sick, to the poor, who cannot earn their living within the family. 48 G. Cirot, Recherche sur les juifs espanyols et portugais ä Bordeaux, p. 173 Les Juifs de Bordeaux, pour la plupart, emploient pour les cérémonies religieuses des mots espagnols, ainsi: LAVADORES, laveur chargés de faire le lavadura ou rehiza aux hommes décédés; lea pieuses femmes qui font la Rehiza s’appellent llermanas... http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/hispa_0007-4640_1906_num_8_2_ 1486 49 M. Radosav, Livada..., p. 18 50 Schöner A., A pokol..., p. 11 51 Ibidem 52 Number 18 is the equivalent of the word hai which means alive in Hebrew, (the cemetery also being called the house of life) 53 M. Radosav, Livada..., p. 171 54 Ibidem 55 Şlomo Sorin Rosen (Prim Rabin), Reflecţii biblice. Iudaism şi Tora în limba română, în Realitatea evreiască, Anul LIII, nr. 330-331, 1-31 decembie, 2009 56 The moruning period has two parts: the first part is called shiva, in the first 7 days, with a lot of restrictions for the familiy of the dead, the second part is of 30 days called sheloshim, which is less restrictive. 103
