Quick help! Jewish tradition of giving money?

[Handbag Lady]

Hello,

I know there is a tradition of giving money in certain multiples at Jewish weddings and bat/bar mitzvahs, etc., for celebratory reasons.

We've lost a colleague to cancer and we will be donating to her family instead of sending flowers. Do we also use this certain multiple here or is that not appropriate at this time?

I Googled and I'm not finding it, although I know the amount is multiples of eighteen.

Thank you!

 

[Lorelei Lee]

Jewish custom does not involve flowers at a funeral. Donating money in multiples of 18 would be appropriate.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Jewish custom does not involve flowers at a funeral. Donating money in multiples of 18 would be appropriate.

Thank you.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

Any time.

 

[NaLisa]

I found this interesting and good to know for future reference. Had to look up more info on Chai:

http://judaism.about.com/od/judaismbasics/g/chai.htm

Because it means “life,” the Chai is consequently a symbol that captures an important aspect of Judaism. According to the gematria, which is a mystical tradition that assigns a numerological value to Hebrew letters, the letters Het (ח) and Yud (י) add up to the number 18. The Het has a value of 8 and the yud has a value of 10. As a result, 18 is a popular number that represents good luck. At weddings, bar mitzvahs and other events Jews often give gifts of money in multiples of 18, symbolically giving the recipient the gift of “life” or luck.

This site has more info on Jewish mourning traditions:

http://www.shiva.com/learning-center/what-to-bring-or-send/flowers-and-jewish-mourning/