Tag #133626 - Interview #100685 (Jozsef Farkas)

My brother died on 19thMay 2002. I went there also, my brother was already buried, but I recited the Kaddish for him and sat shivah, as they called it, those seven days, with my sister-in-law and her son. They put a mattress on a board on which we sat. On these occasions people sit on the ground, not in a comfortable position, and if they had corn-husk [corn-blade] they put it on the floor, laid and covered it, and then sat on it. They don’t sit in armchairs or chairs. Relatives and visitors come and go on these occasions. Another strict ritual thing is that if someone dies in the morning, he or she must be buried in the afternoon. And there isn’t enough time to notify people.That’s why there is the gravestone unveiling 30 days later. During these 30 days they are able to notify everyone, and more people go to the gravestone unveiling rather than to the funeral. I was present at my brother’s gravestone unveiling. On this occasion there comes a chazzan who says the prayer and unveils the gravestone.The family lights a candle, and nowadays people bring flowers. This was forbidden before.My mother, brother and sister are all buried in Israel.