Practical and emotional tools for grieving families and the people beside them – from the first hour to the shloshim. The details you enter stay on your device.
You can mix the two paths, and change your choice at any time with the "Content style" button at the top of the page. The choice is saved only on your device, and never blocks any content.
Traditional-halachic path
Kaddish and prayers by tradition, mourning customs and laws, a death notice in the traditional style.
The full guide from the first hour to getting up, the shiva manager with 18 tasks and prayer times by city, the equipment list with quantities and where to get things, and a meals board the community fills in by itself.
Shiva is the seven days after the burial in which the mourners – parents, children, siblings and spouses – stay at home, receive visitors and say Kaddish. The burial day is day one, even if the burial was at noon; the family gets up on the morning of the seventh day, after the morning prayer. Shabbat is counted but has no public mourning; a festival ends the shiva. Rule of thumb: burial on Sunday – getting up on Saturday morning; burial after sunset – start counting tomorrow.
Burial date – and at once: day one, the day of getting up, Shabbat inside the shiva, a festival that ends it, and the shloshim.
For the family: five things in the first days
Funeral and burial – the Chevra Kadisha sets the time; a standard burial for an Israeli resident is funded by the National Insurance. What to do now.
Let people know – a printable death notice and a picture for WhatsApp with the funeral time, shiva address and visiting hours.
Who runs it – one person outside the inner circle takes the 18 tasks: minyan, meals, equipment, door sign, children.
The house – low chairs, siddurim for the minyan, an urn and a memorial candle; most of it comes free from the gemach and the neighbours. Visiting and rest hours – on the gatekeeper.
When: in the visiting hours the family published, not at meal times and not after 21:00. No visits on Shabbat. 20–30 minutes is enough.
What to bring: a full meal for the family, coordinated on the meals board; no flowers. Practical help (driving the children, shopping) is worth more than pastries.
What to say: enter without a greeting, sit quietly until the mourner turns to you, share a memory of the deceased. On leaving – "HaMakom yenachem etchem…", or "May you know no more sorrow".
Most visitors want to help and do not know how. The sign-up board sorts out who brings a meal, a cake or equipment and on which day, and the guide answers the questions: what to say, and when to leave.
Order shiva equipment from the nearest supplierComing soon
Tent, chairs, cooling or catering in one request – the nearest supplier confirms within 10 minutes. No commission. Piloting with the first suppliers.
WhatsApp botComing soon
One voice message – and a notice, a shiva page and text to share, after the family approves.
Frequently asked questions
How long is shiva, and how is it counted?
Shiva lasts seven days, counted from the day of burial – the burial day is day one even if the burial was in the afternoon. Mourners get up on the morning of the seventh day, after the morning prayer ("A rule in Jewish law: part of a day counts as a full day. For example, if the burial took place in the afternoon, that day still counts as the first full day of shiva."). Example: burial on Sunday – getting up on Saturday morning. A burial after sunset starts the count the next day. The mourning calculator also gives the shloshim and the yahrzeit.
What happens on Shabbat during shiva?
Shabbat counts as one of the seven days, but there is no public mourning: regular clothes, synagogue, no sitting on the floor and no visitors. Private mourning continues. After Shabbat the family sits again. Shabbat and festivals during the shiva.
What if a festival falls during shiva?
A festival cancels shiva: if the family sat even one hour before Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Pesach or Shavuot begins, the festival ends the shiva. If the burial is during the festival or Chol HaMoed, shiva begins after it. Purim, Chanukah and Yom HaAtzmaut do not cancel shiva. Confirm exact dates with a rabbi – the calculator flags a festival inside the shiva.
What do you bring to a shiva house, and what do you say?
Bring a full meal for the family (not only cake) – ideally coordinated on the meals board so ten cakes do not arrive on one day. No flowers. Enter without greeting, sit quietly until the mourner turns to you, listen more than you speak. On leaving say the traditional "HaMakom yenachem etchem…" ("May the Omnipresent comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem") or simply "May you know no more sorrow". The visitor's guide.
What do you do in the first hour after a death in Israel?
Three things: a death notification from the doctor or hospital, a call to the Chevra Kadisha to set the funeral (in Israel usually the same or the next day), and calls to close relatives. Then – a printable death notice, choosing who runs the shiva, and the task list for the first hours, days and weeks.
Which Kaddish is said during shiva, and in which version?
Mourners say the Mourner's The Mourner's Kaddish, recited publicly (with a minyan) by mourners – most often for a parent – usually several times a day for a set period. It does not mention death; its text is about sanctifying God's name. at every prayer service with a minyan, and Kaddish DeRabbanan after study. The wording depends on the tradition: Ashkenaz, Sefard/Chabad, Edot HaMizrach or Yemenite. Kaddish and prayers by tradition has all the versions in large type, with El Malei Rachamim, Hashkava and Psalms for the shiva house, and a personal printable siddur for the home minyan.
Is the site really free?
Yes. Every tool – death notice, shiva manager, gatekeeper, meals board, Kaddish and Psalms, calculators and the printable siddur – is free, with no ads and no sign-up. The portal is run by the nonprofit Ofek LaChaim in memory of Ofek Refael Taub z"l. The exceptions are marked clearly: AI-assisted eulogy writing (29 ₪) and a permanent memorial page (a donation of 180 ₪ per year).
Are the details I enter stored on the site?
No. Names, addresses and dates stay on your device. Only the shared tools – the meals board, the gatekeeper, the memory collection and the memorial page – store on the server what you chose to share, never indexed by Google, and delete it after a set period or on request.
In memory of Ofek Refael Taub z"l
The portal was built in memory of Ofek (2010–2022), continuing his path: that no family in Israel should be alone in the days of mourning.