What is shiva?
Shiva (Hebrew for "seven") is the seven-day mourning period observed by close relatives after the burial of an immediate family member. During shiva, mourners stay home, step back from ordinary activities, and receive visitors who come to comfort them — a practice called "sitting shiva." It is the most intense stage of a structured Jewish mourning process designed to honor the deceased and support the bereaved. Judaism treats grief as something the community carries together, not alone.
What are the customs of shiva?
- Staying home for seven days, refraining from work and routine activities.
- Receiving visitors who come to console the mourners (a "shiva call").
- Traditional signs of mourning — such as sitting low, covering mirrors, and lighting a memorial candle.
- Reciting the Mourner's Kaddish with a minyan.
How does Jewish mourning unfold beyond shiva?
Jewish tradition structures grief in stages: the period before burial (aninut), the seven days of shiva, the first thirty days (shloshim), and, for a parent, the first year — each easing the mourner gradually back into life. The yearly yahrzeit and Yizkor memorial prayers keep the memory alive for years to come. The wisdom of the system is its gradual return: it neither rushes grief nor leaves the mourner stuck in it.
In short: shiva is the seven-day Jewish mourning period when close relatives stay home and receive comforters — the most intense stage of a gradual, community-held mourning process.
Learn the wisdom of Jewish life and loss with Derekh Learning
If you're walking through a loss right now, Derekh's Kaddish & Mourning journey is a companion through the whole year — shiva, shloshim, the months of Kaddish, the first yahrzeit — one short, gentle lesson at a time, in a voice built for grief. The free yahrzeit calculator converts the date and computes the next ten years. Start learning or read what Kaddish is.
