Shemirah
/ʃəˈmɪərə/noun
The Jewish practice of guarding a deceased person’s body from death until burial.
Did you know?In Jewish tradition, a person performing Shemirah is called a shomer or shomeret, remaining with the body and often reciting Psalms.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*š-m-r
“To guard, watch, preserve, or keep safe”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
שָׁמַר (šāmar)
“To keep watch, guard, observe, or preserve”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
שְׁמִירָה (šĕmīrāh)
“Guarding, watching, or protection”
Rabbinic Hebrew
Hebrew
שְׁמִירָה (shemirah)
“The act of guarding a deceased person before burial”
Yiddish
Yiddish
שמירע (shmire)
“Watching over a corpse before burial”
Modern English
English
shemirah
“The Jewish ritual of guarding the dead before burial”