The Case for Traditional Jewish Burial

Several weeks ago, I wrote a Shabbat message to the congregation, explaining how important it was to make decisions about funeral arrangements. I talked about the importance of buying graves in your lifetime, and not placing the burden of such decisions, as well as their associated costs on your survivors and loved ones. That column must have struck a responsive chord. It was one of the most widely read Shabbat messages the year.

By the way, I also reminded my readers that the best, as well as the least expensive option was to purchase graves from the synagogue. So for those who read the message, but were not inspired to actually go ahead and purchase graves, I once again recommend you contact the synagogue office to discuss the various options.

Upon reflection, I realize that my Shabbat message depended on the shared assumption that a traditional, in-ground burial was the best, and for all intents and purposes, the only option.  Sadly, that assumption is not as widely shared as it used to be. Though the traditional, in-ground burial has been the preferred Jewish method of burial for the past 3000 years, it has been challenged in recent decades by developments in American life and culture. So it is important that we understand what other options are, and why each of them is so problematic from a Jewish religious point of view. 

Judaism believes that the body (Guf, in Hebrew), the repository for the soul while we are on earth, is holy. To put this idea in a Jewish theological context, we simply do not believe that our bodies ultimately belong to us. They belong to God, and therefore there are limits to the autonomy we exercise over them.  Many do not fully understand that the body retains its holiness even after life come to an end. That is why we have specific ways to care for and dress the body after death, and why we move quickly from the moment of death to the actual burial ceremony.  We believe that once death occurs, the body must be returned to the earth, and allowed to decompose naturally. Any impediments to that process violate Jewish law, because they are an affront to the innate dignity of the body.

With only a handful of exceptions, Jewish communities practiced simple, in-ground burials exclusively until relatively recently. In recent years however, we have seen a rise in alternative methods to burial which pose tremendous challenges to our religious values. The fact that many Jews have chosen these alternatives in no way it changes our traditional approach. That is why I want to talk about cremation, the most common of the popular alternatives, and the various problems that it poses. In doing so, I also hope to dispel several myths that assert its superiority over traditional burial, as well as make the case for our time honored and dignified practices.

The very thought of cremation was once met with universal revulsion and rejection among Jews of all religious backgrounds and practices. Yet for a variety of reasons that are beyond the scope of this Shabbat message, the number of cremations in America have increased exponentially. As cremation has grown in popularity in our country in the last two generations, increasing number of Jews have chosen this method as well.

We must reject it for several reasons.

As I wrote earlier, the body retains its innate holiness even after death. Destroying the body and reducing it to ashes is simply inconsistent with that religious value. Cremation was always something that was done to Jews, not by Jews.  Such a choice is an indicator of assimilation, which we must oppose.

I should also add that there are those who make the case for cremation due to its perceived ecological benefit.  As one who has studied this issue extensively, I can assure you that there is no evidence to support this claim, and plenty of evidence that prove otherwise. A cremation involves a tremendous amount of fossil fuels, generates considerable heat and releases a considerable amount of toxins that are particularly bad for the environment. A recent Canadian study found serious environmental concerns and issues associated with cremations, and recommended that “a crematorium should not be situated close to a residential neighborhood.” Similarly, we can also dismiss the absurd claim that too much land has been wasted on cemeteries. Another recent survey demonstrated that if every American were buried, it would take 10,000 years to use up just one percent of America’s landmass.   

I could go on and on, but I hope I have made my point. Cremation may fulfill the religious needs and obligations of other cultures, but there is no reason for a Jew to involve themselves in this foreign practice, especially when it does not solve the problem, but actually exacerbates so many existing ones.

Burial and cremation reflect two different, actually radically different ways of seeing the world and our special place within it. Cremation leaves only burned ashes. That which is cremated is fundamentally changed. Burial on the other hand, recognizes that the body must be allowed to decompose, as do all living things.  With burial, intrinsic elements do not change. They simply return to the earth.

We have a similar principle with regard to our sacred religious objects.  When a Torah scroll, a mezuzah, a Siddur, or other sanctified religious objects can no longer be used, do we burn them? Do we throw them in the garbage? Or do we store them until such a time that we can bury them in the Jewish cemetery? They too are allowed to return to the earth naturally.

Household garbage can be burned, thrown out or destroyed. A similar approach to items with intrinsic religious value is unthinkable!   

There is a reason why I am writing about this issue this Shabbat.  In this week’s Torah reading of VaYechi, our forefather Jacob is nearing the day of his death, and he knows it. He makes a simple yet profound request of his son Joseph: “…. do this act of profound kindness for me …… do not bury me in the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 47:29)

Jacob knows that a burial in the land of Israel is a difficult request. It would be much easier for him to be buried in Egypt, instead of the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, the burial place of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. He knows that in Egypt, embalming, mummification, and other practices which reflected Egyptian values were the default burial options. So he insists, and obtains a solemn promise from Joseph to do what was necessary to give him a proper and dignified Jewish burial.

Despite the arduous conditions, Jacob insisted on our time-honored values.  Let us all draw inspiration from his example to do no less for ourselves and our families.