Bereavement

What to do in the event of bereavement

  1. Notify one of the burial offices IMMEDIATELY and leave a contact phone number.If the Burial Offices are closed and you would like to speak to someone, please call 07957 119 119 (this service is not available on Shabbat or Yomtov)

United Synagogue Burial Office – 020 8950 7767

  1. Notify the BES office – 020 8386 5227 (on weekends but not on Shabbat or Yomtov, please call 07709 614 561).
  2. Obtain a death certificate from the doctor or hospital, stating the cause of death.
  3. Take the death certificate to the Registrar for Births and Deaths. It must be the Registrar in the vicinity where the death occurred.
  4. Phone the Burial Office once you have been issued with the relevant documentation. The burial office will advise what to do next.
  5. Once funeral arrangements have been made the burial office will contact the Synagogue Administrator who will assist with shiva chairs and prayer books and liaise with the Rabbi about the funeral and shiva.
  6. Speak personally with the Rabbi about the funeral service and shiva arrangements.
  7. Notify family and friends of the arrangements.

We also have available a bereavement guide containing more information on what to do, and some notes on the various laws, customs and traditions concerning death, burial, shiva and mourning.

US Women have published a downloadable booklet Women Mourners: A Guide to Kaddish and Mourning.

For more general information, please visit the Bereavement section of the United Synagogue website.

The BES Community Care service offers support to members who have been bereaved. Find out more here.

Burial in Israel

The United Synagogue has made arrangements for its members who wish to be buried in Israel, and have produced a booklet detailing the Halachic and practicalities of this. Further information

Kaddish

Please click on the following links for the: