How to Read a Hebrew Tombstone

*Information obtained from JewishGen InfoFile

Jewish tombstones with Hebrew inscriptions have an added value to genealogists, in that they not only show the date of death and sometimes the age or date of birth, but they also include the given name of the deceased's father.  This permits you to go back one more generation.

Here are a few helpful pointers if you cannot read Hebrew.

At the top of most Jewish tombstones is the abbreviation פּ'נ, which stands for po nikbar or po nitman, meaning “here lies”.

At the end of many Hebrew tombstone inscriptions you will find the abbreviation ת נ צ ב ה, which is an abbreviation of a verse from the Bible, the first book of Samuel, 25:29, “May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life”.

If any Hebrew characters at all are written on a tombstone, they are most likely to be the person's Hebrew name.  A Hebrew name always includes a patronymic, the person's father's given name.  This is a unique feature of Jewish tombstones, and a great boon to Jewish genealogy.

The Hebrew word בן, ben, means “son of”, as in “Yaakov ben Yitzhak”, meaning “Yaakov, the son of Yitzhak”.  The Hebrew word בת, bat, means “daughter of”.  On tombstones, these words will often appear as ב'ר, an abbreviation for ben reb, meaning “son (or daughter) of

the worthy”, followed by the father's given name.  The word reb is a simple honorific, a title of respect, akin to “Mr.” — it does not mean Rabbi.

The Jewish Calendar

Dates are written in Hebrew according to the Jewish calendar.  This calendar, which starts its “year one” with the Creation of the World, was probably designed by the patriarch Hillel II in the fourth century.  He calculated the age of the world by computing the literal ages of biblical characters and other events in the Bible, and came up with a calendar that begins 3760 years before the Christian calendar.

Years:
The letters of the Hebrew Alphabet each have a numerical value, specified in the chart on the left.  When a Hebrew date is written, you must figure out the numerical value of each letter and then add them up.  This is the date according to the Jewish calendar, not the calendar we use in every day life, known as the Gregorian calendar (also referred to as the Common Era, civil or Christian calendar).  In September 2009, for example, the Jewish year was 5769.  Given a Hebrew date, you need to do only a little bit of math to change the Hebrew year into a secular year.

Often a Hebrew date after the year 5000 on the Jewish calendar will leave off five thousand.  For example, the Hebrew year 5680 will be written as 680 rather than 5680.  To compute the civil (Gregorian) year, simply add the number 1240 to the shortened Hebrew year.

Here's one example: If the year is written as תרפג, the letter ת is 400, the letter ר is 200, פ is 80, and ג is 3.  400 + 200 + 80 + 3 = 683.  The 5000 is usually left off, so the actual year would be 5683.  By using our formula, 683 plus 1240 is 1923.  That is the civil year.

Months:
The Hebrew year begins on Rosh Hashanah, which occurs on the Gregorian calendar in September or October.  Therefore, the dates listed for the months of Tishri, Heshvan, Kislev and sometimes Tevet must be read as applying to the preceding year of the civil (Gregorian) calendar.

Converting Calendar Dates:
The complete transposition of a Hebrew date to a Gregorian date uses a very complex formula.  It is easiest to simply refer to one of the published or online reference works, such as:

The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar, 5703-5860, 1943-2100, by Arthur Spier (Jerusalem, New York: Feldheim Publishers, 1981); or 150 Year Calendar, by Rabbi Moses Greenfield (Brooklyn: Hotsaat Ateret, 1987).

Most synagogues and Jewish libraries possess one of these works.  Another alternative is to use one of several computer programs: JCAL, Hebcal, Tichnut; Steve Morse's “ Jewish Calendar Conversions in One Step”; or JewishGen's online JOS calculator (https://www.jewishgen.org/jos).  These programs can convert Hebrew to Gregorian dates and vice versa, as well as display calendars and Yahrzeit dates for any year.
For more information about the Jewish calendar, see the JewishGen InfoFile Introduction to the Jewish Calendar.

Some Hebrew Phrases

In addition to names and dates, here are the common Hebrew words which appear on tombstones:

Here lies po nikbar
                                                                                

Son of                  ben

Daughter of         bat

Title, i.e. "Mr." reb, rav    

Son/Daughter      ben reb
of the honored 
                                                                             

The Levite ha-levi

The Cohen           ha-kohen

The Rabbi ha-rav
                                                                              

Dear, Beloved (masc.) ha-yakar

Dear, Beloved (fem.) ha-y'karah
                                                                              

Father                  av

My father            avi

Our father          avinu

Mother                eem

My mother         eemi

Our mother         emanu

My husband        baali

My wife               ishti

Brother               akh

My brother          akhi

Our brother         akhinu

Sister                   akhot

Aunt                    dodah

Uncle                   dod
                                                                             

Man                                      ish

Woman                                ishah

Woman (unmarried) b'tulah

Woman (married "Mrs." marat

Old (masc., fem.) zakain, z'kaina
   
Child (masc., fem.) yeled, yaldah
   
Young man/woman bakhur, bakhurah
                                                                                           

Died (masc., fem.) niftar, nifterah    

Born (masc., fem.) nolad, noldah    
                                                                                         

Year, Years                            shanah, shanim    

Day, Days                             yom, yamim    

Month                                   khodesh

First of the month rosh khodesh
                                                                                          
 
Hebrew Abbreviations on Tombstones:
There are many many different Hebrew abbreviations that are found in tombstone inscriptions and Hebrew literature.  Abbreviations are usually indicated by a quote mark or an apostrophe.  Often, the apostrophe is used to abbreviate a single word, whereas the quote mark indicates an abbreviated phrase.  For more information, see the following works:

“Hebrew Abbreviations for Genealogists”, by Edmund U. Cohler, Ph.D., in Mass-Pocha (Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston).
    - Part I: IV,1 (Winter 1994/95), pages 4-7.
    - Part II: IV,2 (Spring 1995), pages 14-18.
    - Part III: IV,3 (Summer 1995), pages 16-17.

Hüttenmeister, Frowald Gil.  Abkürzungsverzeichnis hebräischer Grabinschriften.  (Frankfurt am Main: Gesellschaft zur Forderung Judaistischer Studien in Frankfurt am Main [Society for Furthering Judaic Studies in Frankfurt am Main], 1996).  349 pages.  {Frankfurter judaistische Studien, Volume 11.  In Hebrew and German.  Hebrew title: Otsar rashe tevot ve-kitsurim be-matsvot bate ha-almin}.  ISBN #3-922056-08-3.  OCLC 925532369.

“Reading Hebrew Matzevot Key Words, Abbreviations, & Acronyms”, compiled by Dr. Ronald D. Doctor. (June 2008).  21 pages.  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~orjgs/Abrrev.pdf.

Symbols on Tombstones:
In addition to the inscription, symbols on the tombstone can be clues.

Two hands, with four fingers each divided into two sets of two fingers, is the symbol of a priestly blessing — this signifies a Kohen, a descendant of the biblical high priest Aaron.

A pitcher signifies a Levite — in ancient days, members of the tribe of Levi were responsible for cleaning the hands of the Temple priest.

A candle or candelabra often is used on the tombstone of a woman; and the six-pointed Star of David on that of a man.

A broken branch or tree stump motif on a tombstone often signifies someone who died young, whose life was cut short.

Bibliography:

• Kurzweil, Arthur.  From Generation to Generation: How to Trace Your Jewish Genealogy and Personal History.  (New York: HarperCollins, 1994).  Chapter 9, pages 342-358.  OCLC 823528084.
• DOROT, The Journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society (New York):
    - XI, 2 (Winter 1989-90), pp 2-3: “Getting the Most Out of Your Cemetery Visit”.
    - XI, 4 (Summer 1990), pg 16; and XII, 1 (Autumn 1990), pg 8: “Tools of the Trade”.
• Krajewska, Monika.  A Tribe of Stones: Jewish Cemeteries in Poland.  (Warsaw: Polish Scientific Publishers, 1993).  242 pages.  {Mostly illustrations}.  OCLC 925571139.
• Rath, Gideon.  “Hebrew Tombstone Inscriptions and Dates”, in Chronicles (Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Philadelphia), Vol. 5, No. 1 (Spring 1986), pages 1-4.
• Schafer, Louis S.  Tombstones of Your Ancestors.  (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1991, 2007).  160 pages, paperback.  {Doesn't deal specifically with Jewish tombstones}.  OCLC 233523010.
• Schwartzman, Arnold.  Graven images: Graphic Motifs of the Jewish Gravestone.  (New York: H.N. Abrams, 1993).  144 pages.  OCLC 891405959.
• Strangstad, Lynette.  A Graveyard Preservation Primer.  (Nashville, Tenn.: Association for Gravestone Studies, 1988, 1995, 2013).  126 pages.  OCLC 1007570142.
• Association for Gravestone Studies, 278 Main Street, Suite 207, Greenfield, MA 01301.   (413) 772-0836.   {Produces a quarterly newsletter, Markers, and access to a lending library.}   https://www.gravestonestudies.org.
• Caplan, Judith Shulamit Langer-Surnamer.  “Tombstone Translation Topics: How to Decipher and Read a Hebrew Tombstone”.  In: 19th Annual Conference on Jewish Genealogy: Syllabus.  (New York: Jewish Genealogical Society, 1999), pages 217-221.   Also In Jewish Genealogy Yearbook 2000 (20th International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, Salt Lake City, IAJGS, 2000), Section 1, pages 80-84.

Links:
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) Cemetery Project:
    · Inventory of Jewish cemetery locations worldwide.
    · http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org.

JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR):
    · Database of three million Jewish burial records, from 7,800 cemeteries in 128 countries.
    · https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/cemetery.

Jewish Cemeteries in the New York Metropolitan Area (JGSNY):
    · List of Cemeteries  ·  Map  ·  Travel Directions  ·  Burial Societies.

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History of Gravestones UK

People say that things go in and out of fashion, but gravestones have long been a traditional way to serve as memorials to our loved ones.

Memorials and gravestones now come in all shapes and sizes that are decorated in a variety of religious symbols or other decorative designs, but the purpose has remained the same.

Here we take a look at the history of gravestones, discuss what the first gravestones were and how gravestones have changed from their early beginnings.

The first gravestones
Gravestones, or grave markers as they were more commonly known, are believed to date back as far as 3,000 B.C. to the Roman and Celtic cultures.

The markers were megalithic monuments and unlike today were used to mark an entire burial chamber rather than a single grave.

In earlier times cemeteries did not exist and people instead had burial plots near their homes where all their family members would be buried together.

Although the first gravestone has not been confirmed, the Mail Online reported back in 2013 that scientists found the first evidence of floral tributes on graves was found at a 13,700-year-old prehistoric burial site in Israel.

Churchyard burials evolve
According to an article on the International Southern Cemetery Gravestones Association, once churchyard burials began to become popular in the 1650s, gravestones began to become more widespread.

Tombstones and monuments made from slate or sandstone were put up to commemorate the deceased and from this point inscriptions were carved on the slate.

The beginning of inscriptions
In the 19th century the importance of gravestones to honour the dead increased and this is where inscriptions began to become more widespread.

Gravestones now started to include a few words about the deceased by loved ones or friends. Information included details about date of birth, date of death and the name of the deceased.

During the Victorian era, which is 1837-1901, more elaborate monuments and gravestones began to appear and popular materials included marble, wood, iron and granite.

Gravestones for all classes
During the Victorian era poorer people began to commemorate the dead with memorials and gone were the days where only the upper class could afford to commemorate the deceased.

The creation of war memorials
Today people can travel to countries such as France to see the beautiful war memorials that mark the lives of all the brave soldiers that sadly lost their lives, but when did war memorials begin to appear?

In Glasgow and Salford there are monuments that remember the Crimean War, which dates back to 1853-1856. The take-off point for war memorials, however, began following the Boer War in 1899-1902.

After the Boer War, statues and monuments were erected to celebrate the lives of soldiers from districts who were killed during the bloody battle.

This has since led to war memorials being created for the First World War, Second World War and other wars since.

Memorials have become more extravagant
Since the beginning of the humble gravestones, where a number of stones were used to show where a deceased person lies to rest, modern gravestones have developed to include the likes of memorial vases, plaques and kerbed memorials.

Monuments remembering large-scale tragedies have also developed, with the World Trade Center Memorial in New York a stunning example that was built to remember the casualties from 9/11.

~Information obtained from AKLander blogpost.

History of Gravestones

Gravestones are also known as grave markers, headstones, and tombstones. In earlier times when there were no cemeteries, people used to have burial plots near their family homes.

These graves were usually marked with rough stones, rocks, or wood, apparently, as a way to keep the dead from rising.

They were mostly marked with the deceased’s name, age, and year of death. Gradually, churchyard burials evolved involving large, square-shaped tombstones prepared from slate (1650-1900) or sandstone (1650-1890). The inscriptions carved on slate used to be shallow yet readable.

Public cemeteries evolved in the 19th century. Eventually, people started giving importance to the gravestones, headstones, footstones, etc. as a means to memorialize the dead.

Thus, they started engraving the headstones with a small epitaph or a few words about the deceased whether written by the individual himself or by someone else. Plus, they bore details like the date of birth and date of death of the departed loved one.

The greatest advantage of this tradition is that by reading the inscription on a gravestone, one can derive information about the deceased and trace out his or her family history.

Alexander Pope, for instance, eulogized Sir Isaac Newton with the following couplet:
“Nature and Nature’s laws lay hid in night:
God said, ‘Let Newton be!’ and all was light.”

The Victorian era (1837-1901) greatly emphasized customs and practices associated with death. So, the period paved way for elaborate tombstones and headstones. The cemeteries appeared more like parks as they had such lavish and decorated gravestones.

In addition, the gravestones also included sculptured designs, artwork and symbols such as:

• angels of death
• star of David
• the Dove
• Egyptian symbol Ankh
• Eye of Horus
• weeping willow tree
• maple leaf
• flowers
• horseshoe
• sword
• broken column

These symbols denoted religious beliefs, social class, occupation, and several other aspects of the life of the deceased.

Unlike these, most tombstone symbols from the Colonial period reflected fear of afterlife as they believed that only a few people would be allowed in the Heaven after death and the rest would be categorized as sinners.

Check out some styles of gravestones popular from 1800-1900 here. Moreover, you can visit this page to find out more about Victorian cemeteries and funeral monuments.

Besides, you can get information about History of Government Furnished Headstones and Markers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.

Interestingly, in the 18th century, there emerged a short-lived burial practice of covering the graves with iron cages (mortsafes).

This strange practice, though, died out by the end of the Victorian era. The most popular materials for gravestones during this era were marble (1780-1930), granite (1860-untill date), iron, and wood.

Earlier, gravestones were used only by the middle and upper classes. However, after the emergence of the new Protestant theology, even lower classes started using grave markers for commemorating the life of a departed loved one.

The term gravestone, by the way, emerged from a Jewish custom in which the visitors to a grave used to place stones at the head as a way to honor the deceased.

This custom, in turn, was inspired from an incident wherein a Jew broke the Sabbath in order to write a note so as solve a crime.

Later, he felt guilty for the act, even though it was necessary. Thus, after thorough contemplation, he decided that his grave should be ‘stoned’ after his death. So, the tradition of placing stones on a grave became popular.

~Information obtained from International Southern Cemetery Gravestones Association