Ritual for the Departure of the Soul
One of the most pressing questions for human beings is one that the living can never answer with any surety— “what happens after we die?” Some religions may have a clear answer about the soul going one place or another, but for Jews there is not a universally preached truth about the afterlife. This does not mean that there is any lack of belief! On the contrary, there are many traditions in Judaism about what happens after death…and each has one thing in common: they are founded on the belief that the soul lives on after we die.
Involved with this belief in which the soul lives beyond the physical body is the soul’s eventual return to God. This eventuality implies, for some Jews, that there is first a journey which the soul must undertake through Gehenna so to be cleansed of sin. This is a reasonable belief- if God is pure than so too must be the souls that join with God! But how might one help facilitate the departed soul’s journey, especially given another belief that the soul hangs around the body until burial? We can enact a new ritual for the departure of the soul that is based in the lived and textual traditions and halacha.
Proposed Ritual for the Release of the Soul of the Departed – Hovlat Nefesh or Hasaat Nefesh or Havdalat Nefesh - הובלת נפש או הסעת נפש או הדבלת הנפש
The following ritual is meant to be carried out in the presence of the dead body as close to the time of death as possible. In the case of a hospital or hospice death this would be done in the room of the deceased. In the case of a more sudden and maybe violent death this could also take place in the morgue or in a funeral home, though ideally it would be done in a place with a window if possible. The process for the ritual is:
Open the window.
The goal of this ritual is to help the soul begin its journey back to God, which means it needs to be able to get outside.
In the case where one is in a room without windows one should crack the door to the room and could even possibly crack open a series of doors until there is a path of air directly going outside.
Light at least two candles. One candle should be next to the body, and another should be next to the window.
Candles represent life and the soul in Judaism and are also a visual symbol for the departed soul to follow.
If one is using a door and not a window, place the candle next to the window. If one is opening a series of doors, one may place candles next to each door.
Any candle type may be used. Some may choose to leave one unguarded that can be at the mercy of the draft and could go out early (which would symbolize the end of the ritual) or one could choose a candle in a votive in order to protect it from the elements and force the candle to burn out naturally.
Light incense near the window.
Incense was used commonly in Temple rituals and was understood by our ancestors to be pleasing to God. As the soul begins its journey back to God this incense will help to make the soul pleasing and acceptable to God. Incense also provides a scent for the soul to follow to the outside.
If one is using doors, the incense should be placed near the outermost door being used. In the case of a series of doors one may light incense by preceding doors in addition to the outermost door.
If one is in a place that will not allow the use of incense (for any number of reasons) one could also lay a trail with contained, fragrant spices (as in a havdallah set) and achieve the same purpose.
Recite Psalms until the candle has burned out.
A specific candle may be selected to give the ritual a specific time limit.
One should try to limit the candle to a maximum of a three-hour burn. At this point the body will begin to stiffen (indicating that the soul is no longer inside) and it would be unwise to postpone any post-mortem examinations that may need to be conducted.
Everybody present should be given an opportunity to recite out loud.
If the people present are not feel comfortable with Hebrew, they can recite in their native language. One could also substitute other readings so long as they are appropriate in tone and nature (up to family’s discretion).
Moment of Silence
Once the candle has gone out the room should take an intentional moment of silence in order to recognize the absence of the soul from their midst.
This moment does not have a specific length, but it should be at least 30 seconds and probably no more than five minutes.
Close the window.
Closing the window demonstrates that the ritual is over and symbolizes that the soul has left and begun its journey.
If using door(s), this is the time to close them.
Basis in Beliefs and Halacha
Any meaningful Jewish ritual should ideally be based in Jewish belief and tradition even if those beliefs of traditions are not currently in practice by Jewish communities. We know that this model of ritual inspiration is acceptable in mainstream Judaism by considering the abundance of practices that derive from or relate to the existence of either of the two Temples in Jerusalem. In this sense, one has seemingly unending sources to go to for inspiration and grounding for a meaningful Jewish practice. Despite this plethora, and our permission to use it, one does not actually have to look very far find sources that can inform a ritual for releasing the soul of the departed!
One belief that is necessary is that the soul resides in the body. We can determine this through inference based on the ruling that one must not close the eyes of a dying person before their soul has expired.[1] This ritual does not act as if the soul has expired, however, and so we might actually rely more heavily on the response in the Shulchan Arukh which indicates that one must not recite Tziduk HaDin before the soul departs [2] which implies that the soul lives on.
This belief that the soul lives beyond the body is the main belief that requiring backing in this ritual. This belief, together with the idea that the soul returns to God, can be sourced back (at least) to Kohelet, in which we read:
[3] “וְהָר֣וּחַ תָּשׁ֔וּב אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר נְתָנָֽהּ׃”
This verse informs Maimonides in his explanation of elements, matter, and the difference between nefesh/ruach and neshama. Nefesh, according to the Rambam, is not made up of any of the other elements, and therefore does not decompose. Rather, it returns to God after the body with no need for the body or the neshama. [4]
Another piece of this ritual that might require explanation of the Jewish background is the use of incense. The use of incense is found often in the Torah, but the best example of its use being directed similarly to the purpose in this ritual comes from Numbers, in which we read that Moses and Aaron use incense to temper the wrath of God.[5] Incense was also used in the Temple for atonement (which we also want for the souls of our departed). Further, Maimonides expresses that foreign nations use incense to summon the dead to speak to them in dreams, and that we should not do that! [6]This also implies that we understand incense to be attractive to souls and therefore gives credence to the idea that the soul will follow the incense.
Conclusion
This ritual is meant to turn the spiritual into the tangible by giving people a physical symbol and act to release the soul of their loved ones. It also helps to reinforce the idea for people that their loved one is only gone in body, which may be comforting. Although nothing can alleviate the burden of loss, especially in immediate proximity to the time of passing, a ritual may give people a sense of closure and a feeling of connection to spirituality that is accessible in moments of liminality.
Footnotes
Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avel 4:5
Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah 339:1
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah Chapter 4
Number 17:11-13
Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avodah Zarah 11:13
