Judaism, Burial, and Cremation Cremation or Burial? A Jewish View Chapter 3 (sponsored in memory of my father , Chiya Kehos ben Yaakov obm -- the anniversary of his passing is today and may all our mitzvos today be cause for the elevation of his soul) Roughly two thousand years ago, Roman historian Tacitus wrote that “the Jews bury rather than burn their dead.” He was right. Aside from the many examples we’ve seen, there is a direct commandment to bury the dead: Deuteronomy 21:23 discusses the case of an evil criminal who is put to death. Even in that extreme case, the command is given, “You shall surely bury him,” teaching a general principle for all cases. The obligation to bury is so strong that even the high priest-who zealously avoided all contact with all forms of death-must personally give the dead a proper burial if no one else can do so. The Talmud, Maimonides, and the Code of Jewish Law all codify the commandment to bury the dead. THE IMPORTANCE OF BURIAL Proper Jewish burial is so important that even if someone requests not to be buried, or his heirs do not desire to bury him, the body still needs to be buried. Lack of burial (whether through cremation or any other method of disposal) is considered a disgrace to the deceased, humanity, and God. Jewish tradition is clear that cremation is a severe prohibition, and is, in fact, the antithesis of the aforementioned commandment and a direct transgression of Judaism. Jewish tradition rejects cremation so unambiguously that, as a deterrent measure, cremated remains were historically not allowed in Jewish cemeteries. In a similar vein, traditionally, one of the first things a new Jewish community does is set up a cemetery and burial society-making sure that proper Jewish burial is available to all. Rabbi David Begoun offers several illustrations of the fact that burying the dead is really important to Judaism: Rabbi Ephraim Oshry was rabbi of the Kovno Ghetto during the Holocaust, answering thousands of questions from Jews of all backgrounds. After the war, he published much of this correspondence in a five-volume compendium entitled Questions and Answers from the Depths. A Jew secretly asked the following question: To survive, he had disguised himself as a German. No one knew that he was a Jew. Thus hidden Jew was dying of cancer and would be buried in a Christian cemetery with a cross over his body, surrounded by Nazis. He asked, “Perhaps I should be cremated to avoid this?” Rabbi Oshry answered: Absolutely not! Jews must do all they can to avoid cremation. His mentions that in ancient times the bodies of many rabbis were transported from Babylonia to Israel, while it would have been much easier to cremate the bodies first, and lists many numerous sources backing his decision. The Torah discusses complex concepts in only a few words, being very succinct, yet emphasizes burial repeatedly. Far from being silent on burial, our tradition seems to overemphasize it: evidently, this idea is important. The commandment to bury is not really one commandment but two-a positive commandment to bury and a negative commandment not to not bury. Why the double commandment? To emphasize its importance. The Holocaust Memories of the Holocaust have prevented many Jews from choosing cremation. As these memories fade, cremation rates have risen. Yet, as we will see, the Holocaust was never the main reason, or even one of the main reasons, that Jews avoid cremation. That being said, it bears noting that burning has historically been a primary means of eliminating Jews (Nimrod’s attempt to kill Abraham, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust are only a few examples). After they were murdered, the bodies were cremated, essentially declaring, “You no longer exist. Nothing from you exists. Your people will soon not exist and there will be no memory of them…” When Jews choose burial today, they are identifying with- and strengthening- the historic Jewish insistence on burial. Burial declares that not only was the extermination of the Jews monstrous, but that the burning of their bodies was also a terrible crime. Against their will, millions of Jews were robbed of proper Jewish burial, and the world was robbed of the chance to properly commemorate their lives. The Jewish Choice Cremation rates among Jews today might be much lower if people were aware of how important burial is to Judaism. Cremation has existed as an option for thousands of years-and yet both Jews and Judaism rejected it, generation after generation. Society’s views on burial and cremation have changed several times and no doubt will change again. Fads come and fads go. The Jewish view hasn’t changed: In an ancient world in which criminals were mutilated and left to the dogs, Judaism said that every human being is created in the image of God and must be respectfully buried. In this final choice, by opting for burial we align ourselves with our tradition and stand firm with the many millions of Jews throughout history who insisted on proper Jewish burials for themselves and their loved ones.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 13:48:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015