Among the

honorifics in Judaism There are a number of honorifics in Judaism that vary depending on the status of, and the relationship to, the person to whom one is referring. Hasid Ḥasīd is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmud ...

, there are several traditional honorifics for the dead which are used when naming and speaking of the deceased. Different honorifics might be applied depending on the particular status of the deceased. These honorifics are frequently found on

gravestones A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

, on memorial walls inside the sanctuary of

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s, in speeches, and in writing such as in

obituaries An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acco ...

. In writing, it is most common to use the name followed by an abbreviation of an honorific either in Hebrew or English. For examples, see chart.

Hebrew abbreviation Abbreviations () are a common part of the Hebrew language, with many organizations, places, people and concepts known by their abbreviations. Typography Acronyms in Hebrew use a special punctuation mark called gershayim (). This mark is placed be ...

s use a special

punctuation Punctuation marks are marks indicating how a piece of writing, written text should be read (silently or aloud) and, consequently, understood. The oldest known examples of punctuation marks were found in the Mesha Stele from the 9th century BC, c ...

mark called

gershayim Gershayim (Hebrew: , without niqqud ), also occasionally grashayim. (), can refer to either of two distinct typographical marks in the Hebrew language. The name literally means "double geresh". Punctuation mark Gershayim most commonly refers t ...

(). This character is frequently approximated using a " (straight quote) or ” (right curly quote) character, a convention which is used in the English abbreviations below.

Comparison chart

The following chart shows different

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

s used, along with their abbreviation in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, their translation, the masculine and feminine forms, the type of person which the honorific is applied to, and examples.

General honorifics

Some honorifics may be used for any individual. These honorifics are generally not used for rabbis or other special persons, since the specific honorifics for those people are used instead, as a sign of honor and respect. See below.

''May he rest in peace''

The single most common funerary salutation in Jewish inscriptions from Rome in the 3rd and 4th centuries is ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἡ κοιμήσις αὐτοῦ/αὐτῆς/σοῦ ''May he/she/you rest in peace''. Joseph S. Park argues that it is distinctively Jewish, relating to the Jewish concept of death-as-sleep, although it also appears in a period Christian inscription. It is equivalent to Hebrew י/תנוח בשלום and משכבו בשלום (cf. Is. 57:2), found on 3-6th century Jewish tombstones from

Zoara Zoara, called Zoar/Tzoar or Bela in the Hebrew Bible, Segor in the Septuagint, and Zughar by medieval Arabs,Guy Le Strange (1890). ''Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500'']. Alexander P. Wa ...

, in modern-day

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. Park argues that שלום by itself is also intended as the equivalent, but that שלום על משכבו means instead ''May his tomb be left in peace''. Also popular was משכבו בכבוד ''May he rest in glory'' and the equivalent מנוחתו כבוד (Is. 11:10) , shortened to מו"כ, was particularly common in the

Rishonic period ''Rishonim'' (; ; sing. , ''Rishon'') were the leading rabbis and ''poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' (, "Set Table", a common printed code of Jewish law, ...

. The '' Tzidduq hadDin'' concludes ינוח נפשו בשלום / ישכב בשלום וישן בשלום / עד יבא מנחם משמיע שלום, ''May he rest in peace / lie in peace and sleep in peace / until the Comforter announces peace.''

''Of blessed memory''

The most common honorific is ''of blessed memory'' or ''may his/her memory be a blessing.'' The Hebrew transliteration is ''zikhrono livrakha'' (m.) / ''zikhronah livrakha'' (f.) (Hebrew: (f.) / (m.)). It is often abbreviated in English both as ''OBM'' and as ''Z"L.'' The Hebrew abbreviation is . In the past, it was common to use this expression for living people as well. In the Babylonian Talmud, it is mentioned that a person should say this expression about his dead father, in addition to the phrase " ayI be the atonement of his resting-place."

''Peace be upon him/her''

An alternative honorific is ''Peace be upon him/her.'' The Hebrew version is ''alav ha-shalom'' (m.) / ''aleha ha-shalom'' (f.) (Hebrew: (m.) / (f.)). It is abbreviated in English as ''A"H.'' The Hebrew abbreviation is . This phrase is the same as the

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic honorific ''

peace be upon him Islamic honorifics are Arabic phrases, abbreviations, and titles that mostly appear as prefixes before or suffixes after the names of people who have had a special mission from God in the Islamic world or have done important work towards these ...

'' (which is used for all

prophets of Islam Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit Revelatio ...

). However, unlike in Islamic usage, the English abbreviation ''PBUH'' is not commonly used for the Jewish honorific. The above two may be used interchangeably; however ''of blessed memory'' is the most common. The term עליו השלום did not appear in Hebrew literature until the early

, a century after its introduction in

Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic (; ; ) sometimes referred as Sharh, are a group of different ethnolects within the branches of the Arabic language used by jewish communities. Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates Islam, has been in some ways distinct ...

. According to the theory of

Michael Broyde use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

, after the Arab conquest the Arabic phrase ("peace be upon him") was translated to Hebrew and was used for any deceased person, a usage which spread to the Jews of Christian Europe beginning in the 12th century. The phrase is more common in Islamic literature as an honorific for saints, and over time in Hebrew it came to predominate over (the classical Hebrew honorific for biblical figures), and by 1600 usage of had disappeared, leaving (or its feminine/plural forms) as the only expansion of .

''May HaShem avenge his/her blood''

The honorific ''May HaShem avenge his/her blood'' is generally used for an individual who are considered to have been murdered through

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

or other acts of anti-Semitism such as pogroms, genocide, or

terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that were not carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are presented in List of assassinations and unsuccessful attempts at List o ...

. The term is also applied to any innocent Jew killed, whether for anti-Semitic reasons or others; for example,

Shira Banki Shira Banki's Way () is a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote moderation and discourse in Israeli society. The organization was established by the parents of Shira Banki, who was murdered at the Jerusalem gay pride parade in 2015. S ...

, a teenager murdered in the 2015 Jerusalem Pride Parade, is referred to as Shira Banki HY"D by the Israeli LGBTQ community. The term has also been used for Jewish IDF soldiers who are killed in battle with the enemy and was approved by the IDF in 2024 to appear on military headstones at the request of the family. The Hebrew phrase is ' (m.) / ' (f.) / ' (pl.) (Hebrew: (m.) / (f.) / (pl.)). The English abbreviation is ''HY"D'', the Hebrew one .

''May I be an atonement for his/her resting''

An appropriate honorific within the first year after one’s parent passes is ''May I be an atonement for his/her resting''. The Hebrew transliteration is ''Hareini Kaparot Mishkavo'' (Hebrew: הריני כפרת משכבו)(m.)/''Hareini Kaparot Mishkava'' (Hebrew: הריני כפרת משכבה)(f.) It is abbreviated as HK”M/ הכ״מ in Hebrew. This is used particularly when making a statement attributable to the deceased. Many authorities say it should be used whenever mentioning the deceased.

Other

Other expressions used to add to the names of people who died: "the deceased", "rest of Eden", "rest in peace". It is customary to sign the tombstones with the initials תַּנְצְבָ"ה (תְּהִי נִשְׁמָתוֹ צְרוּרָה בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים (according to the language of the verse: May his soul be bound in the bond of life.).

Holy and the righteous

The abbreviation "/" stands for "/May his merit shield us", and often follows the mention of meritorious righteous ones. A variant is "/" which adds "Amen" at the end. This expression stems from the belief that a righteous person who passes to the next world can serve as an advocate before God for his remaining community. Other acronyms of this type are (; his soul in the heavenly vineyards) and (; died to his world).

Memory of the righteous

The honorific "''May the memory of the righteous be a blessing''" is used after the names of holy

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

s and other holy people, and "the name of the wicked shall perish" on a wicked person. both from . In Hebrew transliteration: "" and in Hebrew: "". The English abbreviation commonly used is "" and in Hebrew, "" is used. It is pronounced in reading as "". It may be also written as "". It is used primarily in reference to rabbis who have been deceased in recent memory. Thus, one is likely to write "Rabbi

Moshe Feinstein Moshe Feinstein (; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moishe Fainshtein''; ; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was a Russian-born American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—Jewish law). He has been called ...

ZT"L" (d. 1986) but far less likely to write "

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

ZT"L" (d. 1105). This expression is synonymous with Z"L (see above) in that Z"L inherently implies the person was righteous, but, in modern

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

communities, where has acquired a different meaning, ZT"L may be used to distinguish the Tzadik in that modern sense. In the course of time, additional versions of the above expressions were created, for example: ""; "may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing" (ZTVK"L; ), or ""; "may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing for the life of the world to come" ().

Memory of the wicked

While the above-mentioned positive honorifics are added to the names of beloved people, the names of those considered to be particularly ''wicked'' (i.e. evil, despised, etc.) are sometimes embellished with the phrase "

Yimakh shemo () is a Hebrew curse placed after the name of particular enemies of the Jewish people, or on rare occasions, after the name of evildoing Jews. A variant is (). Usage The term, although Hebrew, may be inserted as a set phrase in languages other t ...

" ימח שמו, "May his name be blotted out". Another phrase is "Shem reshaim yirkav" שם רשעים ירקב, "the name of the wicked will rot".This phrase refers to Proverbs 10:7

References

{{Jewish life Bereavement in Judaism Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...