Your Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
There is a lot of uncertainty that comes with planning or attending a funeral. Please read below for some commonly asked questions and answers.
If you have a question that is not answered below, please click here to ask a funeral director directly.
When a death occurs
No matter where your loved one passes, call Sol Levinson immediately. We are the only phone call you have to make, and we contact everyone else, such as the rabbi, cemetery, doctor or out-of-state funeral home, for you.
If your loved one was under home hospice care, you will need to contact the hospice provider. If not, you will need to contact the paramedics. In either situation, have them call us as soon as they arrive. We will have our staff there as soon as possible after we speak with the hospice or paramedic personnel qualified to make a pronouncement of death.
When a death occurs outside of Maryland, call Sol Levinson directly. The professional staff at Sol Levinson will make arrangements to transfer your family member back to Baltimore and provide funeral services. By simply calling one funeral home, you can make the arrangements easier, and also less expensive.
Many families have cemetery lots in the New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia areas, and our professional staff is available to conduct services at your cemetery without the need for a second funeral home. We conduct graveside services in the mid-Atlantic region on a regular basis, and have good working relationships with all of the cemeteries.
Arranging a funeral
Jewish tradition encourages us to have the funeral service without unnecessary delay, but it is not required to have the service within 24 hours. Especially in today's world, with families spread across the country, it is customary to wait 1–3 days to hold a service, in order to allow close family the chance to attend. You can read more on our Jewish Funeral page about the Jewish principles guiding funeral services.
Our funeral directors would be happy to discuss the options available, and the differences between the services, to help you make an educated decision about what type of service is best. Some things to consider are the weather, the availability of seating, whether people are out of town and unable to attend who would benefit from being able to watch a video of the service, et cetera. For some introductory information, please visit the Our Services page.
Yes. Sol Levinson provides cremation services. Our funeral directors can help you arrange a funeral or memorial service, or cremation without a service, based on your family’s wishes. We’ll explain the options and costs and help you decide what works for your family. If you have questions about cremation and Jewish practice, your rabbi can offer guidance.
Green burial shares many practices with traditional Jewish burial, including returning the body to the earth in a simple, biodegradable casket or shroud. It is a burial approach intended to reduce environmental impact and allow natural decomposition.
The body is buried without embalming, in a casket made from materials such as untreated wood or woven willow, or in a natural-fiber shroud. There is no concrete burial vault or other outer container that prevents direct contact with the earth. Refrigeration is used to care for the body before burial.
Green burial can take place in a dedicated natural burial ground or in a designated area of a traditional cemetery. You can still have a funeral, graveside service, and other personal traditions. We can help you choose a cemetery and make arrangements that reflect your family’s wishes.
Your funeral director will discuss pallbearer options with you, as practices vary from one denomination to another. In Jewish tradition, pallbearers are not the immediate mourners, but in-laws and grandchildren are usually acceptable. Active pallbearers physically lift and carry the casket both at the end of the service in our chapel and at the cemetery, so they should be physically capable of doing so. We recommend 5–10 individuals as pallbearers, ideally at least 13 years of age due to the physical requirements. Honorary pallbearers form a guard of honor in our chapel at the end of the service. This is a nice way of recognizing people who are physically unable to lift, or if you have more than 10 people who wish to serve. If you do not have enough pallbearers, Sol Levinson will provide additional staff to assist.
Kriah ribbons are traditionally worn by immediate mourners, including a spouse, child, sibling or parent of the person who has passed. Children who are mourning a parent wear the ribbon on their left side, symbolizing that they are the direct lineage of the person who passed. All others wear the ribbon on the right side.
Many families reduce assets in this way. Please see our Plan Ahead section and contact our office by either filling out the Begin Planning form or by contacting us directly for more information.
Families of all faiths
Yes. Through Eclipse Funerals, launched in 2024 as an expansion of the Levinson tradition of care, we serve families of all faiths and backgrounds with the same high standard of service. Eclipse offers comprehensive funeral planning, personalized tributes, green burial options, and support through every step of the grief process, offering meaningful choices for families whose wishes may not align with a traditional Jewish burial.
Eclipse Funerals is our sister firm, created to bring Levinson-quality care to the broader community. Eclipse arranges traditional funerals, memorial services, cremations, and green burials for families of every faith, or no faith tradition at all. You can reach the Eclipse team directly at 410-777-5857.
Attending a funeral or shiva
The actual funeral service is very similar to non-Jewish services, with the exception of the fact that the casket is closed during the service. In lieu of a viewing, the family generally receives visitors starting 45 minutes to an hour prior to the announced service time. The family may also receive visitors at home or another location after the service. Please see our information on Shiva and Funeral Etiquette.
Most Jewish families do not have flowers at the funeral service, however some do. Check the notice on our website to see if it says "please omit flowers." Charitable contribution suggestions are also available on our website. Some people prefer to send a food tray or fruit basket to the shiva house.
Please refer to Links of Interest for transportation information.
Shiva information can be found on the individual service page for an upcoming service or in our archives for services within the past six months. You can get directions by following the link on that page to get a map.
Whenever shiva times are provided to us with certainty, they will be provided on the individual service page. The rabbi will also announce the information at the end of the funeral service.
Headstones and unveilings
An unveiling is a brief graveside ceremony to dedicate the headstone, with prayers and readings as the covering is removed. Many families hold it about one year after a death, although it may take place after the first 30 days. A rabbi or cantor may officiate, or the family may lead the ceremony.
Our Levinson Monuments unveiling service handles cemetery scheduling, clergy coordination, and preparation of the headstone and surrounding area. A staff member sets up and stays through the ceremony. We provide the headstone covering, a prayer guide, tent, chairs, yarmulkes, water, stones to place on the monument, a podium, and a speaker system.
Contact the monuments team before choosing a date so we can confirm the stone and cemetery will be ready. Learn about our unveiling service
Levinson Monuments, established in 2025, helps families create lasting tributes through expert craftsmanship and thoughtful design. Our team will guide you through selecting the stone, wording the inscription, and meeting your cemetery's regulations on size and material, and will coordinate delivery and installation with the cemetery. Call us at 410-653-8900 and we will connect you.
Yes. Levinson Monuments can add a name, date of passing, or additional inscription to a shared headstone after a second burial. The team handles coordination with the cemetery and can engrave the monument on-site when possible. Hebrew lettering and Hebrew date conversions are also available.
Yes. Levinson Monuments offers professional cleaning for granite and bronze memorials, using non-abrasive methods to remove dirt, mold, and weather stains. Annual cleaning is also available, and you can request before-and-after photos.
Levinson Monuments can assess the condition of a monument and recommend appropriate repairs. Services include restoring faded lettering and repairing or resetting monuments that have shifted or settled. The team will explain what can be done for your family’s stone.
If you find anything out of the ordinary at a cemetery, please call us at 410-653-8900 and we will direct you to the appropriate cemetery caretaker.
Records, certificates and benefits
We have records going back many years and if we handled the service, we often have cemetery information. We would be happy to check our records for you. Email us or contact us at 410-653-8900 and we will research your request. Prior to the 1950s, we recommend contacting the Jewish Museum of Maryland at 410-732-6400.
You can print one from our website or place an order with us by completing the Yahrzeit Calendar Order form and providing the information required. If you don't know the date of death, please contact us and we will check the information in our records.
If we handled the service and the death occurred in Maryland on or after January 1, 1969, please contact us to order additional death certificates. If the death occurred in Maryland prior to 1969, you will need to contact the Maryland Archives at 800-235-4045. For deaths occurring out of state, please refer to the Death Certificate : General Information by State on our Links of Interest page to obtain ordering information for that state.
The best person to call for a Hebrew name is the clergy who officiated at the service, or their synagogue. We do not keep Hebrew names on file.
Sol Levinson notifies Social Security of a person's passing, but benefits vary greatly depending on family situations. We recommend you contact Social Security directly at 800-772-1213. As a general rule, a surviving spouse is entitled to a one-time nominal payment. Also, they are entitled to have the amount of their monthly check changed to a higher amount (if their spouse's benefit was higher than the surviving spouse's). Any Social Security benefits must be applied for by the family.
Veteran's benefits also vary and you can contact the VA for full information at 1-800-827-1000. A veteran with an honorable discharge may have a flag on their casket and be eligible for an honor guard at the cemetery if Sol Levinson is provided with their DD-214, a form usually found on the back of the discharge papers. Sol Levinson will arrange for a flag and will contact the honor guard, as long as we receive the paperwork with enough advance notice.
Still have questions?
Didn't find your question here? Our funeral directors take calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.