Misaskim מתעסקים

Misaskim was founded in Brooklyn in 2004 by Hatzalah members and community activists who saw how much families need help when a loved one dies. They set up a 24-hour hotline and named the group after the term for Chevra Kadisha members.

It lends shiva chairs and religious items free of charge, posts door signs with the mourners' visiting hours, helps arrange burial for the indigent or those without family, and works to prevent autopsies and cremation, which are contrary to Jewish law. After disasters with Jewish casualties it dispatches volunteers anywhere in the U.S. A Canadian affiliate, Misaskim Canada, also operates.