keriah
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Hebrew קְרִיעָה (kri'a).
Noun[edit]
keriah (uncountable)
- (Judaism) The ritual tearing of one’s clothes while in mourning, now typically the wearing of a torn black tie or ribbon.
- 1976, Isaac Klein, A Time To Be Born, A Time To Die, page 29:
- In Keriah for one’s father or mother, the garment is rent on the left side, where the heart is.
- 1980, Abraham P. Bloch, The Biblical and Historical Background of Jewish Customs and Ceremonies, →ISBN, page 52:
- The ritual of keriah sublimates the self-destruction impulse by taking the sense of guilt into account and giving vent to it, but the act of cutting is limited to a garment worn close to the flesh.
- 2017, Victoria Williams, “Jewish Death Customs, Judaism”, in Celebrating Life Customs around the World: From Baby Showers to Funerals, volume 3, →ISBN, page 131:
- Just before the funeral all the mourners repeat the act of keriah and recite a blessing to God that reminds the mourners that even at a time of grief they should praise God who created death as part of life.