Watching Over the Dead

Shemira (guarding, watching) is the custom of keeping constant watch over a body from the time of death until burial, so that the deceased is never left alone. The watcher, the shomer, sits with the body and traditionally recites psalms, especially those expressing trust and refuge. Several strands of meaning are given for the practice: a mark of respect and companionship for the one who has died, a practical guarding of the body in earlier conditions, and, in some readings, an accompaniment for the soul, which tradition pictures as lingering near the body until burial.

Because Jewish law calls for burial as soon as possible, usually within a day, the watch is normally short, but where burial is delayed it may continue in shifts. The same period is also when eating and other pleasures are set aside by close relatives, so that the community's attention is turned wholly toward the dead and their burial.