Burial societies in Jewish communities in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (16th-18th c.)

Abstract

Most Jewish communities of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had burial societies (chevra kadisha), which took care of the sick, kept watch over the dying and the deceased, organized burials, supervised the hospital and the cemetery. The societies were independent of community authorities; they had their own management, finances and records. The officials of such societies were elected every year, independently of communal elections; the posts were often filled by persons reelected, with few new ones coming. Decrees of chevra kadishaauthorities limited the number of new members admitted, but lists of the society in Swarzędz show that the membership was not prestigious or limited to the elite. Limitations regarded only the officials, and especially the most important post of the gabbai. This differentiation of mem-bers was one of the sources of confl icts in the societies. The article discusses the functions of the societies, the duties of their members, the basic sources of financing and the purposes of expenditure. It also describes the rituals of the societies, including festivals, fasting, penance practices performed at the cemetery and feasts for the members. The chevra kadisha tended to the poor free of charge, charging only those more prosperous; it could also be a beneficiary of bequests. The societies’ monopoly on funerary services made them increasingly affl uent, which sometimes resulted in abuse: of increasing charges for funerals and enforcing payment. Consequently, their activities became the subject of resolutions of Jewish seyms and of regulations issued by owners of towns with whom com-plaints were lodged.