How to read a Jewish gravestone
The stones in this registry speak two languages. The English line gives the name the family used in America; the Hebrew lines give the name a person was called by in prayer, the name of their father, and the date by the Jewish calendar. Once you know a handful of signs, a stone tells you far more than the English alone.
The first line: "here lies"
Most stones open with the letters פ״נ, short for po nikbar or po nitman, "here lies." The double mark ״ (or a single ׳) shows that letters are an abbreviation.
The name, and the father's name
The Hebrew name is followed by בן (ben, son of) or בת (bat, daughter of) and the father's Hebrew name. You will often see ב״ר (ben reb), "son of the worthy," and ר׳ (reb), an honorific much like "Mr." It does not mean rabbi.
That father's name is the genealogist's best friend: it reaches back a generation before anyone stepped off a ship. Brothers and sisters share it, so a search for the father's Hebrew name can bring a whole family together. Some examples from the Glick family plot at Beth David:
| English name on the stone | Hebrew name | Died |
|---|---|---|
| Harold (Henry) Glick | צבי בן שמואל | 1998 |
| Seymour Glick | זכאי בן שמואל | 1964 |
| Louis (Lazer) Glick | אליעזר בן משה | 1952 |
| Meyer Glick | מאיר בן משה | 1972 |
| Goldie Glick | גאלדא בת חיים | 1964 |
Harold and Seymour were both "son of Shmuel" (בן שמואל), Samuel. Notice too how the English and Hebrew names differ: Harold was Tzvi, and Louis was Eliezer, often shortened to Lazer.
Priests and Levites
Two words mark a family's ancient role in the Temple, passed from father to son. הכהן (ha-kohen) marks a descendant of the high priest Aaron; הלוי (ha-levi) marks a Levite. A kohen's stone may be carved with two hands, the fingers parted in pairs as in the priestly blessing. A Levite's may show a pitcher: the Levites washed the priests' hands in the Temple.
Other symbols
- Candles or a candelabrum: often on a woman's stone.
- A Star of David: often on a man's.
- A broken branch or a tree cut short: someone who died young.
The date
Dates are written by the Jewish calendar, which counts from the Creation, and in Hebrew letters, each of which is also a number. Add the letters together. The thousands are usually left off, so the year 5683 is written as 683. It appears on a stone as
תרפ״ג
which reads ת 400 + ר 200 + פ 80 + ג 3 = 683.
To turn the short year into the civil year, add 1240: 683 + 1240 = 1923. One caution: the Jewish year begins at Rosh Hashanah in the autumn, so a death in the months of Tishri, Heshvan, Kislev and sometimes Tevet falls in the previous civil year.
The last line
Most stones end with תנצב״ה, the first letters of a verse from the first book of Samuel (25:29): "May his (or her) soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life."