Chevra Kadisha in Johannesburg: funeral contacts, notices and what to expect

The Chevra Kadisha, sometimes translated as the "holy society", is the Jewish community's burial society. It is a communal organisation, not a commercial funeral parlour.

The Johannesburg Chevrah Kadisha says it began as a burial society in 1888. It now describes itself as the largest Jewish welfare organisation on the African continent and the oldest in Johannesburg. Burial is one of its five service banners, and covers funerals, unveilings and cemetery maintenance. It also runs a trauma response team that offers emotional support.

Other services are part of its welfare work, including residential care and financial assistance. This page is about the burial side.

• Chevrah Kadisha Johannesburg burial cemetery staff are on standby for emergencies 24 hours a day on 011 321 0000 code 4284 or 083 704 3994. (jhbchev.co.za)
• Every Jewish person in Johannesburg is given the same burial regardless of wealth; where a person is destitute and without family, all costs are borne by the Chevrah Kadisha. (jhbchev.co.za)
• The Johannesburg Chev maintains over 40,000 graves in three cemeteries: Westpark, Brixton and Braamfontein. (jhbchev.co.za)
• The Chev began as a burial society in 1888 and is now the largest Jewish welfare organisation on the African continent and the oldest in Johannesburg; burial (funerals, unveilings and cemetery maintenance) is one of its five service banners. (jhbchev.co.za)
• The Chev's own site publishes upcoming and recent Johannesburg funeral times and shiva details on its Funerals & Unveilings page. (jhbchev.co.za)
• A trauma response team offers emotional support; the Chev also lists a general after-hours emergency helpline. (jhbchev.co.za)

Checked on 30 September 2026 against Chevrah Kadisha's official website. Numbers change, so confirm on the linked page before you call. Chevrah Kadisha will never ask you to pay a claim fee or send money to a new bank account; if a caller does, hang up and phone the official number.

Johannesburg: head office at 85 George Avenue, Sandringham; burial cemeteries Westpark, Brixton and Braamfontein (over 40,000 graves). (jhbchev.co.za)

Sources: jhbchev.co.za/chev-services, jhbchev.co.za/contact-us, jhbchev.co.za/about-the-chev.

The Chev's own website has a Funerals & Unveilings page. It publishes upcoming and recent Johannesburg funeral times and shiva details. If you are searching for Chevra Kadisha funerals today, the Chevra Kadisha funeral lists, or the Chevra Kadisha Johannesburg funerals listing, this is the official page to use: jhbchev.co.za/funerals-unveilings.

We do not reproduce names, times or lists here. Those change through the day, and the official page is the only place they should come from. If you need to confirm a time or a cemetery before you travel, phone the cemetery and burial office on the numbers in the contact table above.

The page lists named people who have died. Please read it with the same respect you would give a notice in a newspaper.

For a death in the Johannesburg Jewish community, phone the Chev's 24-hour burial standby first. It is staffed by cemetery staff for emergencies, and there are two numbers in the table above, a landline that needs the code and a mobile. The cemetery and burial office has two lines for office hours.

The head office in Sandringham handles general enquiries. The trauma response line offers emotional support, and there is a general after-hours emergency helpline.

Your rabbi or synagogue can also guide you, and many families phone them first.

Separately from the burial, a notice of death must be given to Home Affairs within 72 hours by a family member or a representative the family appoints. Our guide to how to plan a funeral in South Africa walks through the steps.

The Johannesburg Chev maintains over 40,000 graves in three cemeteries: Westpark, Brixton and Braamfontein.

It says every Jewish person in Johannesburg is given the same burial, regardless of status or wealth. Where a person is destitute and without family, all costs are borne by the Chevrah Kadisha.

We did not find a fee schedule, funeral plans or membership fees on its site. Ask the cemetery and burial office what applies to your family. Do not pay anyone who says they are collecting on the Chev's behalf until you have phoned an official number and confirmed it.

Only the Johannesburg Chevrah Kadisha has an official website that we could find. The contact details on this page are for Johannesburg only, and the cemeteries named here are Johannesburg cemeteries.

We found no official website for a Chevra Kadisha in Cape Town or elsewhere. Other listings we saw were third-party directories, which we did not use. If you are outside Johannesburg, ask your rabbi or synagogue who arranges burials in your area, and get any number from them.

Jewish burial customs, including ritual washing (taharah), shrouding, the timing of the funeral and mourning, come from Jewish tradition. Practice can differ between communities, and the Chev's pages do not set out these details.

We therefore do not describe them here. Your rabbi or the Chev's office can explain what to expect and what is asked of the family. Do not hesitate to ask, and to say if you are unsure. They guide families through this every week.