WLS is Here to Help

When someone has died, please contact Micky Nathanson on 020 7535 0284. If you are making contact when our offices are closed, please call 0207 723 4404 and follow the instructions in the recorded message.

For more information please download our Guide for the Bereaved.

CHEVRAH KADISHAH
WLS does not maintain its own chevrah kadishah – burial society – but use an established firm of Jewish undertakers who act as a chevrah for us and take care of the practical arrangements for the funeral. We operate this arrangement principally for the benefit of WLS members, but will also assist in arranging funerals for Jewish non-members, particularly those who wish to be buried in one of our cemetries.

PAYMENT SCHEMES 
WLS operates two schemes aimed at paying for the costs of funerals – the Burial Scheme and the Funeral Expenses Scheme.

The Burial Scheme provides:

• a plot in our main cemetery – Edgwarebury Lane; OR
• a space in the Columbarium at Hoop Lane; OR
• a grant to the value of a plot at our Edgwarebury Lane Cemetery towards a plot at our Hoop Lane Cemetery.

Members of WLS are automatically members of the burial scheme and there is no extra charge for what the scheme provides.

The Funeral Expenses Scheme provides:

• collection of the body of the deceased and delivery
• tahara – ritual preparation of the body
• the coffin
• the interment#
• a burial service with a rabbi at either the cemetery or crematorium
• arrangements for shiva prayers
• it does not cover the cost of the crematorium which is operated by an outside company

Wider funeral costs, like cars for mourners, headstones and memorial services are not covered by the Scheme, although members are entitled to special rates for these costs. Please contact Micky Nathanson on 020 7535 0284 for details.

This scheme does not provide a burial plot, which must be paid for separately if you are not a member of West London Synagogue. To qualify as a member of this scheme, you must satisfy one of these three criteria:

• you were a member of WLS in January 1992, when the scheme was introduced
• you became a member of WLS later than January 1992 and were less than 50 years old when you joined
• you became a member of WLS later than January 1992 and were more than 50 years old when you joined, in which case you can elect either to pay a surcharge or to receive reduced benefits Members of the scheme pay an annual levy.

Details of the Funeral Expenses Scheme can be found within the Membership Information leaflet.

Practical support

We are on hand to support, to make arrangements and to offer practical help, from the period of the approaching death all the way through to the end of the formal mourning period – and beyond.

For more information, please download our Guide for the Bereaved.

We help with the following matters:

• Approaching death
• At the time of death
• Making the arrangements
• Civil legal requirements
• The medical certificate
• Registering the death
• Arranging the funeral or cremation
• Burial plots
• Cremations

Please contact Micky Nathanson on 020 7535 0284 for more information.

To find the location of the WLS cemeteries, please visit our Cemeteries page.

MOURNING AND BEYOND

Judaism has a highly evolved mourning ritual that brings the community into play – protecting and supporting the mourners in practical as well as emotional ways, allowing them to grieve fully and safely and, over time, accompanying them back to a full life.

For more information please contact Micky Nathanson on 020 7535 0284 for more information, or download our Guide for the Bereaved.