A Burning Question: Are Cremations Kosher?

An ancient burial cave, dating from the 5th century BCE, smack by one of Israel's busiest traffic arteries, the Ayalon Highway. (Moshe Gilad)

Cremation and Judaism “on one foot”:

Cremation is the act of burning a body after that person has died. From a Jewish perspective, there are separate questions here in terms of what Jewish tradition says about whole-body burial vs. cremation, and how to respond when Jewish families are aware of the Jewish perspective and choose to ignore it.

The Torah’s View on Whole-Body Burial vs. Cremation

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Deuteronomy, from a section about criminals who commit capital offenses. One can reason that if a person who committed a heinous crime should be buried promptly, all the more so (“kal vachomer”) a regular person should be buried. The reasoning seems to be not desecrating a body that was created in the image of G-d (Rashi on this verse, citing Sanhedrin 46b:5).

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Genesis, after Abraham’s wife Sarah dies. This is the origin of having specific Jewish burial areas. Nowhere in Genesis 23 does it say that Abraham burned Sarah, so the most logical explanation is that Abraham buried Sarah’s entire body.

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Genesis, where Jacob is at the end of his life and giving final instructions. This text shows that whole-body burial was important to the founders of Judaism. It is also noteworthy that Jacob died in Egypt, but it was permissible to transport his body to be buried in a place of his choosing.

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Deuteronomy, at the very end of the Torah. We know from earlier in the Torah (Leviticus 10:2) that G-d is capable of sending fire which burns bodies. Yet here, G-d doesn’t do that before burying Moses. It seems that if G-d is the Ultimate Role Model (Sotah 14a:5) then the example being set is that of burying bodies without burning them first.

The Rest of the Bible’s Views on Cremation vs. Whole-Body Burial

​​​​​​​Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Joshua, describing how after the Battle of Jericho, somebody looted the city against strict orders not to do so. It is clear from the end of the story (Joshua 7:25) that the person was killed by stoning and then burned, thus making cremation a fate for a criminal who committed a very very serious crime.

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Amos, a prophet from the village of Tekoa (in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, near the Dead Sea) who prophesied to the Northern Kingdom of Israel around 760-755 BCE. Here it seems that burning a person’s bones is considered a terrible thing to do.

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of 1 Samuel, describing the aftermath of the battle where King Saul was killed fighting the Philistines. Because the text says that the bodies were burned but the bones were buried, there have been different explanations for the burning that happened. Perhaps they lit a bonfire of mourning at the death of the king, and then they buried the bodies. Perhaps they scorched the flesh with pungent spices (revocalizing "saraf" as "sarap"), or perhaps the bodies had become maggot-infested and so it was considered a desecration to bury the entire body. The other version of this story (1 Chronicles 10:12) doesn't say that any burning happened at all, just that the bodies were buried. What all the interpretations have in common is that because Deuteronomy makes it clear that burial should be done for the dignity of the deceased, any burning of the body would only be done if that would add to the dignity of the body.

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Jeremiah, who lived 655-586 BCE and prophesied primarily in Jerusalem as the Babylonians were drawing near and then destroying the city. Here he is talking to King Zedekiah about how the king will be captured but will die a peaceful death in Babylonia. It’s likely that the “burnings” that happened for the kings of Judah upon their death refers to burning of incense and not of the bodies; if it was the bodies being burned, it was out of honoring the dead.

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Ezekiel (who lived in Babylonia during the Exile and prophesied 593-571 BCE), where he is prophesying against Tyre. It seems that having a fire devour you is not a positive fate.

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Malachi. Malachi prophesied in Jerusalem after the Jews returned from Babylonia; the things he refers to puts his prophesies around 432-420 BCE. This text comes from the end of his book (and the Haftarah for Shabbat HaGadol, right before Passover), when he talks about the day that Elijah will announce the coming of the Messiah. Again, it seems that being burnt to ashes is not a positive fate.

A Recap of the Bible’s Take on Whole-Body Burial vs. Cremation

- People should be buried, whether they are criminals or Patriarchs and Matriarchs.

- Burial is done out of honoring the dead (who are created in the image of G-d)

- Even G-d uses burial when needing to deal with a body.

- Unless you are doing it out of honoring the body, burning bodies either leads to bad things or is a punishment.

Cremation vs. Whole-Body Burial in the Post-Biblical Sources

Context: This is from the Mishnah, Masechet (Tractate) Avodah Zarah, which is about idolatry. The Mishnah is trying to figure out which non-Jewish practices are considered idolatry so as to avoid aiding and abetting in idolatry. According to the Mishnah, it is idolatrous to burn dead bodies. In 105 CE, around the time Mishnah was being composed, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote in "Histories" that Jews "bury rather than burn their dead" (Histories 5:5).

Context: This is from the Babylonian Talmud, Masechet (Tractate) Sanhedrin, which is about criminal law. Here they are talking about what happens after somebody commits a capital offense. The Talmud (500 CE) concludes that it is a commandment (mitzvah) to bury the dead. This is then reiterated by Maimonides (1200 CE) in his list of the commandments (Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandments 231), Sefer HaChinukh (537:1), and in the Shulchan Aruch (1563 CE) (Yoreh De'ah 362:1).

Context: This is from the same section of the Babylonian Talmud. It suggests that there is a connection between burial and mourning. This might not be as starkly true in the case of cremation, as you don’t have the same finality of hearing the earth hitting the coffin.

Context: This is from the Babylonian Talmud, Masechet (Tractate) Moed Katan, which is about mourning. It shows the historic Jewish concern for bringing costs down for funerals and also why plain pine coffins, which are ecologically friendly and decompose, are the traditional Jewish practice.

Context: This is from Maimonides’ (1138-1204) Mishneh Torah, where he reorganizes the rulings in the Talmud so they are easier to find. What’s new and relevant about this text is that it talks about what to do if a parent says that they don’t want to be buried (which today would probably mean cremated). One of the factors at play here is that burial provides closure for the living — hearing the earth hit the coffin is very final.

Context: Also from the Mishneh Torah. This text has relevance to the idea of a “green funeral”, suggesting that coffins are not mandatory for Jewish burial.

Context: This is from the Shulchan Aruch, the 1563 code of Jewish law by Rabbi Joseph Caro. It is relevant to the practice of burying ashes from a cremation.

Context: This is from the Shulchan Aruch again. Here there is a concern about carrying, which is generally not done on Shabbat. However, it’s more important to not let a corpse burn. Thus, if you can carry a dead body in a “better way” that’s great, but it’s most important to not let it burn, even if this means breaking Shabbat.

So Jewish Tradition Seems Firmly Anti-Cremation -- Why Do Some Jews Want It?

The biggest reason is that it is less expensive. Going with a cremation can be $1-3,000, while a traditional funeral can be $8-10,000. The second reason biggest is that it is considered more ecologically friendly, though traditional Jewish funerals avoid many of those problems by not embalming and only using a plain pine coffin instead of rare hardwoods with jewels or metal caskets.

Other reasons that people prefer cremations include: Not taking up space in cemeteries, it being seen as easier on surviving family members (less complicated, more flexibility in timing for memorial service), not liking the idea of lying in the ground or decaying after death, and more options for what happens with the ashes (keep at home, scatter in a specific spot, turn into art, divide among loved ones).

And What are the Reasons Not To Cremate?

There are many reasons why people would not want to be cremated. The first has to do with permanence — it’s easier for many people to feel a loved one’s presence when there is something permanent, rather than an ephemeral spirit that might be there in a place where ashes were scattered years before. Even if somebody keeps an urn of ashes to try to maintain that sense of permanent presence, urns get lost in a way that gravestones don’t. Connected to this is the value that future generations not yet born might find in the information on a gravestone. Genealogical records on paper get lost, and those on the computer might become unreadable as technology advances (floppy disks and Letter Perfect, for example). Those who are interested in knowing about previous generations from their family can’t get dates of life from a cremation urn.

The second reason is ecological. Crematoria use huge amounts of fossil fuels and release toxic substances into the air: visible emissions, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, metals (mostly mercury from dental fillings), dioxins, and furans. If we are concerned about air pollution when we are alive, it would be hypocritical to send those values up in smoke. It is better for our bodies to decompose, bringing nutrients back into the earth. Moreover, the fact that cemeteries take up space is precisely their benefit, because they preserve open and green space in a time when buildings are taking over more and more open space.

Finally, there is the idea that our bodies are created in the image of G-d, and for people who want to treat bodies respectfully, it seems better to treat them like we treat a Torah scroll that is done with its lifespan.

Plus the biggest reason for many — the Holocaust

Night, by Elie Wiesel (1958), p. 34

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in the camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed.

Never shall I forget that smoke.

​​​​​​​ Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky.

​​​​​​​ Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.

​​​​​​​ Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the will to live.

​​​​​​​ Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned all my dreams to ashes.

​​​​​​​ Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself.

Never.

A Good Video Recap with Some New Thoughts Too

What Actually Happens in a Cremation?

​​​​​Note: You might find this gross, but if you are considering cremation you should know what happens

1. Paperwork must be filled out. There needs to be a death certificate signed, and a medical examiner must approve that there’s no need to do an autopsy on the body (because there’s no going back once you start, unlike a burial). Next of kin must also fill out a form authorizing the cremation. Most states have a 24-48 hour waiting period between death and cremation to make sure everything can happen that needs to. During this time, the body is lying in a temperature-controlled room.

2. The body is prepared. Pacemakers are removed so they don’t explode. Metal implants like knee or hip replacements are left in at this point. Jewelry is either removed or not, depending on the family’s wishes. The crematorium is heated to 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the body is put into a flammable box, either cardboard or a wooden coffin.

3. The body is burned. Once the body (and box) is put in the oven, called a retort, the door is sealed. The body is subjected to a jet-enginelike column of flame, aimed at the torso. The heat ignites the container and dries the body, which is composed of 75 percent water. As the soft tissues begin to tighten, burn and vaporize from the heat, the skin becomes waxy, discolors, blisters and splits. The muscle begins to char, flexing and extending limbs as it tightens. The bones, which are the last to go, become calcified as they are exposed to the heat and begin to flake or crumble. An average human body takes from two to three hours to burn completely and will produce an average of 3 to 9 pounds of ash. The amount of ash depends usually on the bone structure of the person and not so much their weight.

4. The bones are then ground up. After the chamber cools, what’s left are bones and metal such as dental fillings. The metal is picked up with a magnet. The bones and remnants are put into a grinder (called a cremulator) that uses ball bearings or rotating blades, like a blender. The remains are pulverized and poured into a container. The “ashes” (really ground up human bone) can then be mailed or picked up by the family.

https://science.howstuffworks.com/cremation.htm; https://www.meadowmemorials.com/blog/what-is-a-cremation

What if somebody wants to be cremated but have their ashes buried in a Jewish cemetery?

It depends who you ask. Many Orthodox authorities will say no, though the United Synagogue of London Burial Society will allow ashes to be buried if they are in a coffin. Conservative rabbis will most likely officiate at a memorial service with the body present before it has been cremated, though if they have been told that somebody has been cremated and their rabbinic presence is requested at the cemetery for burial of the ashes they are likely to agree. See here for the ruling of the Conservative Committee on Jewish Law and Standards: https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/assets/public/halakhah/teshuvot/19861990/shapiro_cremation.pdf. Most Reform rabbis will say yes; see here for their current thinking: https://www.ccarnet.org/responsa-topics/when-a-parent-requests-cremation/.

With appreciation to: Tzvi Sinensky (his sheet “End of Life in Judaism #8: Cremation was particularly informative), Gabe Greenberg, Hadar Institute Responsa Radio, David Zinner, Jacob Fine, Ari Elias-Bachrach, Rabbi Ruhi Sophia Rubenstein, David Siff

Appendix A: Burial of Cremated Soldiers During WWII

Appendix B: Top 10 Reasons for Ground Burial

Reasons for Ground Burial — An Alphabetical Acrostic

By: David Zinner

Exploring Jewish Reasons for Ground Burial - An Alphabetic Acrostic

By David Zinner

This article represents that position of the author and does not necessarily represent the position of the Jewish Funeral Practices Committee of Greater Washington or Kavod v'Nichum.

Many Jews are asking if cremation is an acceptable alternate to in-ground burial. Isn't cremation simple and inexpensive? Isn't cremation quick and the least burden on my children? Jewish educators and funeral homes serving Jews report rapid increases in Jews asking about, and asking for, cremation.

While there are no firm statistics on Jewish cremation, there are cremation statistics for the overall population of Canada and the United States. Cremation after death rose in the U.S. from 21% in 1996 to 26% in 2000. Projections 25 years out are that 50% of all deaths will end in cremation. Canadian rates of cremation are much higher, already at 40% in 1996 and increasing steadily. We can only assume that Jewish cremation rates are following the statistical trend of the U.S. and Canada.

The probable increasing rate of Jewish cremation in the U.S. and Canada raises serious concerns about the tradition of Jewish burial and the survival of Jewish communal cemeteries. Cremation also has profound implications for Judaism and the Jewish community's treatment of the dead and the bereaved.

Traditional sources offer little in-depth thinking about cremation. For example, Rabbi Abner Weiss addresses cremation in a total of 15 lines of a 400 page Halachic guide to Death and Bereavement. He says that cremation is a "tragic commentary on the erosions of Jewish norms and values". While Rabbi Maurice Lamm devotes a full page to cremation, his discussion starts and ends with the statement that "Cremation is never permitted."

This article provides ten talking points that explore the burial vs cremation question from different angles. The discussion is arranged as an alphabetic acrostic, a traditional form of Jewish writing. One of the more famous Hebrew alphabetic acrostics is the Ashamnu (we have acted wrongly), from the Viddui (confession) of the Yom Kippur (Days of Awe) liturgy.

There are additional articles on this subject on the Jewish Funerals, Burial and Mourning web site.

1. Atmospheric - We no longer burn leaves because of overuse of fossil fuels and problems with air pollution. When we cremate bodies we put visible emissions, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, metals (mostly mercury from dental fillings), dioxins and furans into the air. Burial returns what God has given us to the earth, not the sky.

2. Biological - Decomposition is a natural process that builds the soil. The bacteria that aid in digestion while we are living are instrumental in our decomposition after we die.

3. Communal - Cremation in the U.S. and Canada is usually done privately in a crematorium, with no witnesses or ceremony. On the other hand, burial is usually done with community participation. The ritual of accompanying the deceased to burial, saying prayers, and the actual burial process often provide needed support for the bereaved family. A Jewish Cemetery makes a statement about a community, the active Jewish life that was there and the close bonds people had with each other.

4. Disrespectful - After a typical Western cremation the remaining bone fragments are crushed and put into a container for the family to keep. But homes are not designed for long term storage and the remains may be discarded or forgotten. Cremation is at odds with the respectful way tahara (ritual washing) and kevurah (burial) are done. Our sages have compared a dead body to a torah scroll that could no longer be used - still deserving of maximum respect.

5. Environmental - Cremation uses less land than burial, but burial can help preserve the land it does use. For those of us who live in the city, or in the suburbs, or even in the country, preservation of open, green space may be a challenge. Developers are skilled at squeezing maximum usage from every inch of space. Cemeteries preserve open space and are difficult for developers to acquire. One future challenge is to make cemeteries more "green" or environmentally conscious.

6. Financial - Cremations often do cost less than burials. But, we can keep the cost of funerals and burials low by owning and managing our own cemeteries and by participating in community contracts, which can save thousands of dollars. We can also take a more active role in cemetery policies and advocate for plots with no liners and even advocate for elimination of caskets. In many places in the U.S. and Canada, Muslim communities have negotiated agreements with cemeteries that allow them to bury without caskets or liners. Most local jurisdictions allow these practices.

7. Genealogical - Cemetery markers are important for future generation visits and genealogical research. Think about the most permanent way to convey information. You could put information on a computer, a floppy disk, a video tape, an audio tape, a vinyl record or a piece of paper. What are the chances that 100 years from now that the information could be deciphered or that the media would still be readable? Take it to the most basic. A polished rock with an inscription - designed to last hundreds of years. Locate it in a protected area, a cemetery which we surround with a fence, prohibit the cemetery's development, and create rituals to maintain and to preserve it.

8. Historical - The first Jewish communal cemetery dates back to 1000 CE. In a 1000 year unbroken chain Jews have been buried in a Jewish Cemetery to let future generations know that a Jewish community existed. In the Prague Cemetery we see layers upon layer of Jewish burials. Historically a cemetery has been the first Jewish institution formed in a new community, before schools and synagogue. A tragic part of our history is the Nazi murder of millions of Jews. Many of us shudder when we hear the word "crematorium". How can we forget the horrible way so many of our relatives died? When we are buried in a Jewish cemetery, we preserve a part of the history of our community.

9. Intensity - The tradition of burial helps families work through their grief. K'vurah - filling in the grave is a startling, unusual action, that forces us to confront the reality of death. According to Maurice Lamm, "the heart-rending thud of earth on the casket is enormously beneficial. In proclaiming finality, it helps the mourner overcome the illusion that the relative still lives; it answers her disbelief that death has indeed claimed its victim; it quiets his lingering doubts that this may be only a bad dream."

10. Judaic - Jewish law and tradition is to be buried in the ground. Early in Genesis, Abraham buries Sarah. The other patriarchs and matriarchs are also buried. The words in Deut. 21:23 are "You shall surely bury him". In the Jewish tradition, the Chevra Kadisha (holy burial society) carefully and lovingly washes the body and dresses the body in tachrichim, simple white burial garments with no pockets. The Chevra Kadisha treats the body with the utmost respect. They ask for forgiveness if they have violated the person's privacy. This beautiful and profound ritual is usually not available for those who will be cremated.

https://www.dc.jewish-funerals.org/exploring-jewish-reasons-ground-burial-alphabetic-acrostic

Appendix C: Orthodox Takes on Cremation

Maurice Lamm, The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning (1969)

Cremation is never permitted. The deceased must be interred, bodily, in the earth. It is forbidden - in every and any circumstance - to reduce the dead to ash in a crematorium. It is an offensive act, for it does violence to the spirt and letter of Jewish law, which never, in the long past, sanctioned the ancient pagan practice of burning on the pyre...Even if the deceased willed cremation, their wishes must be ignored in order to observe the will of God. Biblical law takes precedence over the instructions of the deceased...Cremated ashes may not be buried in a Jewish cemetery... Shivah is not observed and Kaddish is not recited for them...

The Jewish Mourner’s Book of Why, by Alfred Kolatch, 1996

- Cremation is contrary to Jewish law. However, no law forbids the burial of ashes in a Jewish cemetery, though many Orthodox rabbis prohibit it.

- Rabbi Yekutiel Greenwald, in his book on mourning (Ach Le-tzara, p. 34, 1939), mentions the case of a Jew who lived among non-Jews and who feared that when he died, he would be buried in their cemetery. The Jew therefore left word that upon his death his body was to be burned. When the man’s wish became known, the Rabbis ruled that the wish was not to be honored because it is far better for a Jew to be buried among non-Jews than to be cremated. [Kolatch goes on to note that there is no problem with military funerals in national cemeteries.]

- Although there are instances in the Bible where cremation is seemingly considered to be an acceptable practice (1 Sam. 31:12, Amos 6:10), early rabbinic authorities considered it to be a violation of Biblical law. Their ruling is based on the statement in the Book of Genesis (3:19), “For dust are you, and to dust will you return”. This, say the Rabbis, means that the body itself must be returned to the earth from which it was formed. Additionally, some modern authorities consider cremation to be a pagan practice that harks back to the funeral pyre. Imitation of non-Jewish practices is forbidden in Jewish tradition.

- Most Orthodox authorities consider the burial of the ashes of cremation in a Jewish cemetery to be a violation of Jewish law. Rabbi Ben Zion Uziel (1880-1953), known as the Rishon Le-Tziyon, explains that the burial of ashes of cremation in a Jewish cemetery is prohibited because a Jewish cemetery is a sacred place, and to bury ashes there would be an act of desecration. While many authorities agree with this position, some rabbinic bodies, such as London’s Burial Society of the United Synagogue (Orthodox) and the Law Committee of the Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative), do permit the ashes of cremation to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. In this way, these organizations maintain, at least part of the deceased is being returned to the earth as demanded in Gen. 3:19. All Jewish authorities agree, however, that if a body has been accidentally incinerated, such ashes may be buried in a Jewish cemetery. The Rabbis compared the burning of a body to the burning of a Torah scroll. Just as the scroll that is burned must be buried in the ground, so must a corpse that has been burned in a fire be buried. When cremation is deliberate, traditional law forbids the burial of ashes of a corpse in a Jewish cemetery (Yoreh Deah 282:10).

- In traditional shiva practices, shiva is not observed for persons who have been cremated. Aside from the fact that cremation is a violation of the Biblical law requiring that the deceased be returned to the ground form which man was originally formed (Gen. 3:19), Judaism considers cremation to be a pagan custom and as such it is prohibited. The Rabbis insisted that the deceased be buried in the earth, and not disposed of in any other way (Sanhedrin 46b). Jewish law considers anyone who leaves instructions to have his body cremated as unworthy of having the rite of Shiva observed in his honor. However, many families today do observe Shiva in such an instance.

Appendix D: Conservative Takes on Cremation

The Observant Life, ed. Martin Cohen, 2012

Judaism regards the human body as a sacred trust from G-d that none has the right to desecrate or destroy, and this has been the view of Judaism since ancient times. Therefore, cremation, considered the ultimate expression of disrespect to the dead, is absolutely forbidden in all instances. In light of the Shoah, in the course of which millions of Jews were murdered and their bodies burnt to ash, the practice has taken on a new air of repulsiveness. Normally, cremated remains (occasionally called cremains) are not buried in a Jewish cemetery. There are, however, certain exceptions to this rule. For instance, in the cases of families who brought the cremated remains of beloved family members with them when they left the former Soviet Union, most rabbis, noting the complete repression of Jewish tradition under the Communists and the lack of alternative to cremation, have agreed that those remains be buried in dignified Jewish graves. More delicate is the situation that ensues when Jewish individuals leave specific instructions to their heirs that they wish to be cremated, often noting explicitly that they are aware of the fact that this is forbidden and they wish their bodies to be cremated nevertheless. The family of such individuals should be informed that they are not duty-bound to obey the wishes of their parents in this matter since cremation is explicitly forbidden under Jewish law and that Jewish tradition is completely clear that parents do not have the authority to instruct their children to violate halacha. In this way, every effort should be made to discourage cremation. If the heirs feel, however, that they cannot go against the specific instructions of an otherwise lucid, now deceased, parent, such cremated remains may be buried in a Jewish cemetery. This validates the ancient principle that the wishes of the dead are to be considered a sacred trust by the living (cf. the tradition ascribed to Rabbi Meir preserved in the Talmud at BT Ta’anit 21a and other places), but in such a way that precludes any possibility of the Jewish community appearing to condone a decision that tradition considers abhorrent and which the Shoah renders incomprehensible. A responsum by Rabbi Morris Shapiro permitting wide rabbinic discretion in dealing with issues relating to cremation and the disposition of cremated remains was adopted by the CJLS in 1986 and is published in CJLS Responsa 1980-1990, pp. 608-616 [and also here: https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/assets/public/halakhah/teshuvot/19861990/shapiro_cremation.pdf - DS].

A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, Rabbi Isaac Klein, 1992, p. 275

The Jewish way of burial has been to place the body in the earth. Hence, cremation is frowned upon. The questions that arise in the case of cremation are:

1. Should the ashes be buried in the congregational cemetery?

2. Should a rabbi officiate at such a funeral?

A great number of authorities forbid the burial of ashes in a Jewish cemetery because this would encourage the practice of cremation (see Duda’ei Hasadeh, sec. 16; Machazeh Avraham, vol. 2, Y.D. 38; and Lerner, Chayei Olam). Others permit it and even permit a service at the burial (Rules of the Burial Society of the United Synagogue of London, quoted in Rabinowicz, A Guide to Life p. 29; see also Rabbi Eliyahu ben Amozegh, Ya’aneh Va’eish).

The Law Committee of the Rabbinical Assembly has ruled that cremation is not permitted. When it is done by the family in disregard of Jewish practice, a rabbi may officiate only at the service in the funeral parlor; the ashes may be buried in a Jewish cemetery and appropriate prayers may be said, but not by a rabbi, lest his participation be interpreted as approval (Rabbinical Assembly Proceedings, 1939, p. 156; Law Committee Archives).

Supplement on Mourning and Funerals, p. 531

Cremation is against the Jewish tradition, and the family of the deceased should be so advised by the rabbi. Should the family ignore the rabbi’s advice against cremation, the rabbi may (but need not) choose to officiate in the funeral parlor before the actual cremation. The ashes may be buried in the Jewish cemetery, but the internment should be private, without the presence of the rabbi. In the event that the rabbi’s ruling and advice have not been ignored, but, rather, that the rabbi is faced with a fait accompli, the rabbi may choose to conduct services at the cemetery.

Appendix E: Reform Takes on Cremation

CCAR RESPONSA (2006)

5766.2

When A Parent Requests Cremation

She’elah

A man, who is approaching death, has instructed that his body be cremated. His children are very uncomfortable with this request. They ask whether, under Jewish tradition, they are obliged to honor it, or are they entitled to bury him intact, in contradiction to his express wishes? Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof has ruled that in such a case we apply the Talmudic dictum “it is a mitzvah to fulfill the wishes of the deceased” (B. Gitin 40a and elsewhere). I wonder, however, if a more nuanced approach is better suited to a case such as this, where the children have strong religious objections to their father’s instruction? (Rabbi David Katz, Binghamton, NY)

Teshuvah

In the responsum that our sho’el mentions, Rabbi Freehof rules that “we should urge” the family to carry out a father’s wish to be cremated.[1] He acknowledges that the principle “it is a mitzvah to fulfill the wishes of the deceased” is not absolute; we are in fact forbidden to fulfill the wishes of the deceased if he or she instructs us to commit a transgression against Jewish law.[2] Thus, an Orthodox rabbi would surely rule against the request: “since cremation is contrary to Jewish law, the man’s wish contravenes the law and may not be carried out.” However, since the question has been posed to a Reform rabbi, “the answer cannot be so clear-cut.” For us, cremation does not necessarily “contravene the law”; the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) resolved in 1892 that “in case we should be invited to officiate” at a cremation, “we ought not to refuse on the plea that cremation be anti-Jewish or irreligious.”[3] Rabbi Freehof notes that there is no clear and obvious prohibition against cremation in the sources of Jewish law and that “the Orthodox agitation against cremation actually began about a century ago” in response to the growing movement toward cremation in Western societies. Indeed, “when one studies the (Orthodox) arguments adduced against cremation, one can see that they are forced.” On this basis, Rabbi Freehof concludes that Reform Jews can have no principled religious objections to cremation. In the instant case, unless the man’s family is Orthodox, we should counsel them to honor his instruction. “Surely, if we officiate at a cremation, we cannot refrain from fulfilling or encouraging the fulfillment of a man’s wish for this type of disposal of his body.”

We have quoted at length from Rabbi Freehof’s responsum because we do not want to minimize the challenge that faces us. Our sho’el is asking that we rule against our teacher, and we are ordinarily reluctant to do so.[4] We would argue, though, that the times demand a different response. For one thing, the situation is no longer “so clear-cut”; the Reform position on cremation is more complex today than it was when Rabbi Freehof wrote his teshuvah. We also think that our attitude toward the maintenance and encouragement of traditional forms of Jewish observance has changed quite a bit over the last several decades. For these reasons, we hold that the children in this case may well be entitled to act upon their own religious beliefs and not to fulfill their father’s request.

In order to make this argument, we shall have to consider, first of all, the attitude of Jewish law and tradition toward cremation as a means of the disposal of human remains. We shall then look at the developing Reform Jewish attitude toward cremation as expressed in the literature of the CCAR. Finally, we shall consider this particular case in the context of Jewish tradition, Reform Jewish practice, and the ethical obligations that the children may owe to their dying father.

1. Cremation in Jewish Law. There is no explicit requirement in the Biblical text that the dead be buried rather than cremated. The sources make clear that burial was the normative practice in ancient Israel,[5] but nowhere do we find an express prohibition of the burning of the corpse. The Rabbis understand burial to be a requirement of Torah law, derived from Deuteronomy 21:23.[6] Maimonides codifies the law as follows: “If the deceased gave instructions that his body not be buried, we ignore him, inasmuch as burial is a mitzvah, as the Torah says (Deut. 21:23), ‘you shall surely bury him.’”[7] Yet like the Bible, the Talmud and the classical halakhic literature contain no explicit prohibition of cremation. The subject seems almost never to have come up, most likely because cremation was simply not practiced by the Jews and no one thought to ask whether it was permitted or forbidden.[8] The silence lasted until the nineteenth century, “when cremation became an ideal that was agitated for through many societies in the western lands.”[9] At that time, the leading halakhic authorities condemned cremation as a transgression against Jewish law, an opinion that remains the consensus viewpoint.[10] This prohibitive opinion rests primarily on two halakhic grounds. First, cremation does not fulfill the commandment to bury the dead, based as we have seen on Deuteronomy 21:23. Burial of the cremains would not rectify this, since the mitzvah of burial applies to the body itself and not to its ashes.[11] Second, Jewish tradition mandates kevod hamet, that we treat the corpse with honor and respect, and it regards the burning of a body as an act of nivul (or bizayon) hamet, contemptible treatment of a corpse.[12] Other arguments include the prohibition against imitating Gentile customs (chukot hagoyim)[13] and the contention that cremation is tantamount to an act of heresy in that it denies the belief in techiyat hametim, the physical resurrection of the dead.[14]

These arguments may or may not be “forced,” as Rabbi Freehof describes them. Some of them may be more persuasive than others. What is certain, though, is that Orthodox authorities are united in the opinion that cremation violates traditional Jewish law, an opinion shared by Conservative[15] and Reform[16] writers.

2. Cremation in the Literature of the CCAR. Our Conference has published a number of statements with respect to cremation.

a. The 1892 resolution, referred to above, declares that “in case we should be invited to officiate as ministers of religion at the cremation of a departed co-religionist, we ought not to refuse on the plea that cremation be anti-Jewish or anti-religion.”[17] The resolution followed upon the report of a special committee, chaired by Rabbi Bernard Felsenthal, that had been appointed to study the issue. The report made two essential points. First, it demonstrated at some length that the practice of cremation was contrary to Jewish law and tradition.[18] Second, it sought to avoid the substantive issue of whether to endorse cremation as a method for disposal of human remains. “The writer of this does not wish to be understood that he pleads for cremation. He also does not oppose it.” Since a rabbi is not “a competent expert” in the matter of whether cremation is “preferable” to burial, the only motion “in order in a rabbinical conference” is one that calls upon rabbis, whatever their position concerning cremation, to provide pastoral care for those of their people who do choose the procedure.[19]

b. The 1961 Rabbi’s Manual, recounting the 1892 resolution, states: “Since that time, most Reform Jews have gone beyond this cautious tolerance and have accepted cremation as an entirely proper procedure. A number of leading Reform rabbis have requested that their bodies be cremated.”[20] In its section on funeral liturgy the Manual contains a prayer suggested for recitation when “the body is to be cremated.”[21]

c. The 1974 responsum of Rabbi Freehof discussed at the beginning of our teshuvah.

d. Gates of Mitzvah, a guide to Reform Jewish life-cycle observance published in 1979, stresses that “while both cremation and entombment in mausoleums are acceptable in Reform Judaism, burial is the normative Jewish practice.”

e. In1980 the CCAR Responsa Committee appended a comment to the 1892 resolution. It notes that the resolution “remains unchallenged policy within our Conference,” but adds: “In this generation of the Holocaust we are sensitive to terrible images associated with the burning of a body. Rabbis may, therefore, choose to discourage the option of cremation. The practice remains permissible, however, for our families.”[22]

f. The current Rabbi’s Manual, published in 1988, states: “We continue to stress that burial is the time-honored Jewish way of disposing of the dead… However, the practice of cremation has lately spread, for a number of reasons. We would reiterate that it ought to be discouraged if possible, especially in our generation which has seen the murderous dispatch of millions of our people by way of crematoria. If, however, cremation has been decided upon by the family, we should not refuse to officiate. It is suggested in such cases that the service be held at an appropriate place and not at a crematorium.”

g. A 1990 responsum notes: “Reform Jewish practice permits cremation… although… we would, after the Holocaust, generally discourage it because of the tragic overtones.”[23]

The record of these statements suggests a perceptible shift of attitude toward cremation within North American Reform Judaism during recent decades. While our earlier pronouncements accept cremation as permissible or even as “entirely proper,” the Conference since 1979 has pulled back from that affirmative stance. Although acknowledging that the 1892 resolution remains on the books and that Reform Jewish practice “permits” cremation, our more recent statements call upon rabbis to actively “discourage” the practice. This negative position is based upon two threads of argument: that burial is the normative traditional Jewish practice and that, after the Holocaust, cremation has become associated with one of the darkest periods in Jewish and human history.

These threads of argument, in turn, reflect two important transformations in the way that many Reform Jews have come to think about their religious lives and decisions. The first has to do with the positive reevaluation of “tradition.” In the past, the fact that a particular observance was “traditional” or accepted Jewish practice did not in and of itself recommend that observance to Reform Jews. Indeed, we were quite ready to dispense with any such practices that were “not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization” and that “fail to impress the modern Jew with a spirit of priestly holiness.”[24] It is for this reason that Rabbi Felsenthal could argue both that cremation was a transgression against traditional Jewish law and that this fact was irrelevant to Reform Jewish thinking on the subject:

Joseph Qaro’s Code is of no obligatory authority to you. The Talmud is of no obligatory authority to you. Even the laws of the Bible as such are of no obligatory authority to you… Shall we for the sake of the living inquire of the dead? Shall we for the sake of the living open the old folios, and submit to what they have said hundreds of years ago under quite different conditions of life? Shall we learn there whether or not cremation is in accord with the spirit of Judaism?[25]

Rabbi Felsenthal’s words remain an eloquent expression of a central article of Reform Jewish faith. To this day, we affirm our right to define the “spirit of Judaism” and to abandon, alter, or replace old practices that we no longer find religiously meaningful. In this view, we cannot declare to Reform Jews that cremation ought to be forbidden solely because it runs counter to the halakhah or to the customs of our ancestors.

In recent decades, however, a new attitude has taken hold within our community. We have described it as follows:

(M)any of us have reclaimed ritual observances abandoned by previous generations of Reform Jews, from the generous use of Hebrew in the liturgy, to the wearing of kipah, talit and tefilin, to the dietary laws (kashrut), to the ceremonies surrounding marriage and conversion. These examples – and more could be cited – testify that our approach to traditional ritual practice differs significantly from that of our predecessors. This difference stems, no doubt, from the divergent religious agenda that we have set for ourselves. If our predecessors regarded their acculturation into the surrounding society as a predominant objective, we who benefit from the social and political gains that they achieved are more concerned with taking active measures to preserve our distinctive Jewishness. Thus, where they may have viewed many ritual observances as barriers to social integration and as obstructions to “modern spiritual elevation,” we may find them an appropriate and desirable expression of our Jewish consciousness.[26]

This is what we mean by the positive reevaluation of “tradition.” The point is not that traditional practices exert, to use Rabbi Felsenthal’s words, “obligatory authority” upon us. The point, rather, is that we take the Bible, the Talmud, and even “Joseph Qaro’s Code” more seriously than we did in his day as positive influences upon our own religious behavior. We are now more inclined than ever before to adopt or to preserve a ritual observance precisely because it is “Jewish.” We are more likely to regard a practice’s traditional pedigree as a reason for maintaining it, especially when there are no compelling moral or aesthetic arguments against that practice. We are therefore today more likely – though not obligated – to oppose cremation on the grounds that burial is a mitzvah, the “normative” Jewish way of disposing of human remains.

We might in a similar way explain our differences over whether cremation constitutes an act of nivul hamet (contemptible treatment of a corpse). A Reform Jew is certainly entitled to define this term in a way that is “adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization.” Cremation is widely accepted in Western culture as an honorable way of treating human remains. We are therefore under no obligation to regard it as an act of nivul hamet solely because some rabbinic texts portray it as such. Yet to say that we are not obligated to adopt the traditional definition does not entail that we are forbidden to do so. It is true that concepts such as “honor” and “disgrace” do not admit of objective definition. All this means, however, is that such terms can only be defined from within a particular social context; to reach these definitions, we must choose to work within a particular culture’s set of values and affirmations. The particular culture that is Jewish tradition declares the burning of the corpse to be an act of nivul or bizayon. A Reform Jew today who finds special and satisfying meaning in the values and affirmations of Jewish tradition is thus entitled – though, again, not obligated – to adopt this definition precisely because it flows from the religious and cultural heritage of our people.

The second transformation in our religious thinking concerns our sensitivity to the experience of the Shoah (Holocaust). There is, to be sure, all the difference in the world between the Nazi crematoria and the freely-made choice of cremation for ourselves and our loved ones. We should, moreover, be wary of invoking the memory of the Shoah as a facile justification for decisions concerning religious practice.[27] Yet for all that, the Jewish world is a different place now, “after Auschwitz,” than it was before. Neither we nor our religious consciousness has emerged unchanged from our confrontation with that event. And one such change, as the recent statements of our Conference affirm, has to do with our attitude toward the machinery of cremation. The images of fire, ovens, and smokestacks, which we recall so vividly when we contemplate the mass murder of our people, can and do persuade many liberal Jews that today, after Auschwitz, the consigning of our dead to the flames is not the proper Jewish way to honor them.[28]

We emphasize that we are dealing here with general trends. To speak of transformations in our religious thinking is to describe what is happening within large segments of the Reform Jewish community rather than to prescribe a correct course of action in a specific instance. Not all Reform Jews are affected in the same way by these trends, and not every Reform Jew will draw from them the same conclusions concerning his or her religious observance. As a noted jurist once remarked, “General propositions do not decide concrete cases.”[29] Yet in this particular concrete case, the Conference has moved decisively away from its previous acceptance of cremation. The members of this Committee reiterate this stance. Although we, like our more recent predecessors, continue to acknowledge that the 1892 resolution remains the formal policy of the CCAR, we would continue to call upon our rabbis to discourage the practice of cremation among our people. We do so for three primary reasons. First, burial is the normative traditional Jewish practice; as such, it is a mitzvah that exerts a strong persuasive force upon us. Second, we note the absence of convincing moral or aesthetic objections to the practice of traditional burial that would move us to abandon it.[30] Finally, we concur with our predecessors that today, after the Shoah, the symbolism of cremation is profoundly disturbing to us as Jews.

3. The Question Before Us. How should the children of whom our she’elah speaks respond to their father’s request? Considering all the above, we would counsel the following.

a. The North American Reform movement does not regard cremation as a “sin.” The 1892 resolution of the CCAR calls upon rabbis to officiate at cremation services, and despite our reservations concerning cremation, we hold that the procedure does not “contravene the law.” Therefore, the children are not forbidden to honor this request, and they may arrange for cremation in response to the mitzvah to honor our parents and to the dictum that we should seek to fulfill the wishes of the deceased.

b. Nonetheless, the children are not obligated to honor their father’s request. The CCAR discourages the choice of cremation; it supports the choice of traditional burial; and Reform thought today recognizes the right of our people to adopt traditional standards of religious practice that previous generations of Reform Jews may have abandoned. The commandment to honor one’s parents does not apply in such a case, for a parent is not entitled to compel his or her children to violate their sincerely held Judaic religious principles.[31] Thus, when a Reform Jew has serious and substantive religious objections to cremation, he or she may refuse a loved one’s request for it.

c. By “traditional burial,” we do not mean to endorse many of the practices that, although associated with burial in the public mind, would be deemed as excessive or inappropriate by many of us. Among these are such elaborate and unnecessary steps as embalming, expensive caskets, and the like. Jewish tradition emphasizes simplicity and modesty in burial practices; individuals should not feel driven to choose cremation in order to avoid the expense and elaborate display that all too often accompany contemporary burial.[32]

d. It is essential that families speak about such matters openly, honestly, and before the approach of death. When the child fails explicitly to say “no” to a parent’s request for cremation, the parent will justifiably think that the child has agreed to carry out that instruction. In such a case, the child quite likely has made an implied promise to the parent and thus bears an ethical responsibility to keep it. Therefore, if the children have objections to cremation, they should make their feelings known to their parents sooner – much sooner – rather than later.

https://www.ccarnet.org/responsa-topics/when-a-parent-requests-cremation/

American Reform Responsa #100, 1891

Though some might have considered the burying of the dead merely as a minhag (a custom), not as a mitzvah (an explicit law), it is certain that this minhag was very deeply rooted and was consecrated in the consciousness of the people, and such a minhag, such an unwritten law, is - according to very ancient Jewish legal principles - superior to the written law, and even supersedes it ("Haminhag mevatel et hahalacha"). It is further certain that since the eighth century all authorities, without exception, agree that kevura is one of the six hundred and thirteen commandments of the Torah. The first one who specified the six hundred thirteen commandments (which, according to a dictum of Rabbi Simlai, are prescribed in the Torah) was R. Simon of Kahira, and in his enumeration of the same he included also "likbor et hametim" (Halachot Gedolot, ed. Hildesheimer, p. 13).

Appendix F: Other Articles About Cremation

From "Judaism and the Human Body" by Rabbi Bradley Artson at https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/lets-get-physical/

Why is an impaled body an offense against God? Wouldn’t the humiliated corpse serve a valuable preventative function, since all who saw it would resolve not to commit a similar offense? If so, it should be a good thing to leave the body hanging. Besides, the person isn’t the same as the body anyway! The body is relatively unimportant, like a used set of clothing that no longer fits. So who cares about how the body is treated!

Apparently, the Torah doesn’t accept that trivialization of the body. Rashi adds to the Torah that, “It is a slight to the King [God] because humanity is made in the likeness of God’s image and Israel are God’s children.” This may be likened to two twin brothers who resembled each other; one became a king while the other was seized as a criminal and hanged. Whoever saw him exclaimed, ‘The king is hanged.'” This shocking comment implies that our resemblance to God is more than just spiritual, that even our bodies reflect the Divine Image, and therefore deserve reverence and respect.

In Midrash Va-Yikra Rabbah, the great sage, Hillel, compares keeping our bodies clean to maintaining a statue of a king. He comments that, “Bathing the body is an obligation, since we are created in the image of the Ruler of the world.”

For that same reason, Jewish tradition prohibits cremation as undignified to the body of the deceased, and Talmudic tradition affirms a physical resurrection of the dead. One need not share every Talmudic belief about the afterlife to recognize great wisdom in preserving a sense of awe and gratitude for the human body.

In an age awash in self-destructive drugs, too busy to exercise or to eat carefully, respect for our bodies is dangerously low on our agenda. Teenagers and women smoke in growing numbers, and alcohol use, too, is on the rise. Biblical and Rabbinic tradition maintain that our bodies reflect God’s image and therefore command respectful maintenance. In addition, our bodies are not our property, but God’s. We use them, as the tenants and stewards of God’s possessions. But ultimately, our bodies must be returned, well-tended, to their original Owner.

Jewish Views on Cremation

Taboo in Jewish tradition, but increasingly popular nonetheless.

BY MY JEWISH LEARNING

Jewish law mandates that human remains be buried after death, and this has been dominant Jewish practice for millennia.

Extensive sources from the Torah through the later rabbinic authorities attest to this requirement, and there is a powerful taboo against cremation reinforced by the millions of Jews burned in Nazi crematoria during the Holocaust. Nevertheless, as cremation becomes more common in mainstream society, the number of Jews opting for cremation appears to be increasing, forcing Jewish authorities to consider a number of related issues, including whether cremated remains may be interred in a Jewish cemetery and whether a rabbi may officiate at a funeral for someone who has been cremated.

Is cremation permitted by Jewish law?

Defenders of cremation point out that there is no explicit prohibition against cremation in Jewish legal sources. However there are prohibitions on defiling dead bodies and detailed procedures for handling them prior to burial — all of which appear inconsistent with the act of cremation. Proponents of cremation also point to biblical sources suggesting that Jews may have practiced the burning of dead bodies in ancient times.

Against that is a large body of Jewish literature that deals extensively with burial of the dead. In Genesis (3:19), God declares of man: “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Deuteronomy (21:23) commands in the case of an executed criminal, “You shall surely bury him.” The requirement of burying the dead is explicitly codified in multiple later rabbinic sources as well, including Sanhedrin 46b, Maimonides’ Sefer Hamitzvot and the Shulchan Aruch.

Moreover, there are additional historical, cultural and spiritual arguments against cremation. According to the Jewish mystical tradition, the soul does not immediately depart the body after death, and the process of decay in the earth allows a gradual separation rather than the more immediate and painful one resulting from the burning of the body. Cremation was historically associated with pagan practices that Jews are repeatedly enjoined in the Torah to reject. And because the body is traditionally considered the property of God, it is forbidden to defile it, which some regard the willful burning of human remains to be.

For all these reasons, Orthodox and Conservative rabbinic authorities maintain that cremation is prohibited. The Reform movement has adopted conflicting positions on this question over the years, but the most recent rabbinic opinion on the subject states that while cremation ought to be discouraged, the practice is not considered sinful.

Can the remains of cremated Jews be buried in a Jewish cemetery?

Generally yes. Even in traditional communities, the fact that someone may not have adhered to Jewish law in their lifetime does not constitute grounds for their exclusion from Jewish burial grounds. Individual burial societies or Jewish cemeteries might decline to inter the ashes of a cremated body, in part as a deterrent to others who might also choose cremation. But there is nothing in Jewish law that bars them from burying ashes. Many Jewish cemeteries are known to bury ashes upon request , and the Reform movement has said explicitly that cremated remains of a Jewish person should be buried in a Jewish cemetery.

Can a rabbi officiate at a funeral for someone who was cremated?

It depends on the circumstances. According to a ruling adopted by the Conservative movement’s legal authorities in 1986, in a case where a family declines the advice of a rabbi not to cremate a family member’s remains, the rabbi should not officiate at the interment, but may choose to officiate at a ceremony prior to the cremation. If the family did not consult a rabbi prior to cremation, the rabbi may choose to officiate at the interment. The Reform movement does not object to its rabbis presiding over a funeral at which a cremation is to take place.

Does a deceased’s wish to be cremated have to be honored?

The Shulhan Arukh rules explicitly, citing Maimonides, that heirs must not respect the wishes of a deceased person not to be buried. While some rabbinic authorities differed on this point, contemporary Orthodox and Conservative authorities uphold the view that next of kin are not obliged to defer to the wishes of the deceased in such a case. The Reform movement has said that children are not forbidden from honoring a parent’s request to be cremated, yet neither are they obliged to do so if it contravenes their own religious principles.

Is cremation cheaper than burial?

Yes. According to a study from the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost of a funeral in the United States in 2014 was $7,181, while cremation cost $6,078 — and could easily be far lower if certain services were foregone. However, given the importance traditionally accorded to Jewish burial, many Jewish communities have resources, such as free burial societies, to subsidize a traditional burial in cases where the family lacks sufficient financial resources. In addition, it is traditional Jewish practice to bury someone in a simple pine casket, rather than the more expensive types of caskets that funeral homes often market.

Is embalming permissible in Jewish tradition?

Embalming is the process of preserving human remains, often to enhance presentability for public viewing. As with cremation, embalming is traditionally viewed as inconsistent with Jewish practices surrounding death and burial. Embalming a body is generally seen as a form of mutilation of the dead body, while the whole notion of preservation runs counter to the tradition that the dead be buried quickly and in as natural a state as possible. However exceptions for certain embalming procedures are occasionally made in extenuating circumstances, as when it is required by law or if a body must travel overseas for burial.

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/judaism-on-cremation/

Confronting cremation

‘This conversation is difficult because it involves facing death.’

By Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips May 18, 2012

At first glance, the two sides of the Jewish cremation dilemma seem clear. Opponents deplore what they see as a violation of Jewish law, desecration of the body and callous indifference to the memory of the Holocaust.

Proponents claim that cremation is less costly and more ecological, and that it saves land for the living. Yet a closer examination reveals a much more complicated picture. We need a Jewish conversation that speaks to the realities of both cremation and burial. This conversation is difficult because it involves facing death — not the illusory death of movies and computer games, but real and inevitable mortality — and what it means for our lives.

Levayah, the Hebrew word for “funeral,” actually means “accompanying.” Whether we bury or burn, our willingness to accompany is usually quite limited. Between medical pronouncement and final disposition, our dead are typically wrapped up and taken away to preparations of which we have only the vaguest knowledge. It’s much easier to focus on the details of a product — an urn or a coffin, a memorial plaque or a headstone — than on honoring and protecting a body in transition.

Jewish funeral imperatives are derived from the biblical precept that even the corpse of an executed criminal deserves protection from desecration. Levayah also incorporates such traditional but still relevant principles as biodegradability (“To dust you shall return”), sustainability (“Do not waste or destroy”), simplicity and equality (“All should be brought out on a plain bier for the honor of the poor”). With this in mind, we can approach the questions about cremation that make it most problematic for Jews.

Is cremation a violation of Jewish law? Orthodox rabbinic authorities maintain that it is. Meanwhile, the Conservative movement in 1986 unanimously adopted a rabbinic ruling: “Even though our tradition has clearly developed a taboo against cremation, there is no explicit source in the Bible or in the Talmud against it.” That being said, the “sacred established tradition” of burial should be upheld, and “if the body has been cremated, there is still a positive mitzvah to bury the ashes.”

Two years later, Reform rabbinic leaders also went on record to discourage the scattering of cremated remains in favor of their burial. Unfortunately, these rabbinic decisions are at cross-purposes with the established regulations of many Jewish cemeteries, which forbid precisely such interment of cremated remains.

Is cremation a desecration of the body? While some world cultures have cremated their dead with the utmost reverence for millennia, it is crucial to understand North American industrial procedures. Bodies are warehoused before each one is incinerated at four-digit temperatures for two to three hours. Afterward, bone fragments and other residue are further pulverized before they are boxed and returned. The absence of family and community members is as stark as it is standard.

Mistakes do happen. At best, “ashes” returned may not actually be those of one’s family member. At worst, there is the risk of falling prey to one of the many scandals of real criminal desecration that surface regularly throughout the United States, to the devastation of surviving kin.

The dumping of about 300 decomposing corpses at a Georgia crematory was exposed in 2002. A New Hampshire crematory was shut down in 2005 after some 4,000 cremations, for violations that included com-mingled cremation, unlabeled remains and forgery. Trafficking in human body parts at several New York funeral homes left more than 1,000 bodies desecrated as of 2006. In the absence of protective levayah, anyone’s body is vulnerable to such crimes.

Is cremation more ecological than burial? “For most environmentalists, it’s actually better to fade away than burn out,” British journalist Leo Hickman has noted in the Guardian. “Our lives… already result in enough gratuitous combusting of fossil fuels. Much better, in death, to compost down as nature intended.”

The Centre for Natural Burial offers an extensive list of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants linked to crematories, and estimates that “the amount of nonrenewable fossil fuel needed to cremate bodies in North America is equivalent to a car making 84 trips to the moon and back… each year.”

There are also hard questions of environmental justice, since crematories — like other incinerators — are generally located in poorer communities. The Associated Press has reported on neighborhood campaigns to block the construction of new crematories in various states and countries, with particular concern for mercury emissions from dental fillings.

Does cremation save land? Given the prodigious consumption of nonrenewable energy, the air pollution and the global warming hazards involved, it’s difficult to make the case that cremation will safeguard “land for the living” in any truly sustainable manner for future generations.

Is cremation less expensive? Usually — assuming only direct transport from deathbed to crematory. Depending on the details of memorial service arrangements, though, costs may rival those of burial. Most significantly, as indicated previously, the ultimate environmental costs of cremation are much higher than the dollar amount paid by the individual consumer.

Does the choice of cremation reflect indifference to the Holocaust? Not necessarily. There is growing awareness that some Holocaust survivor family members quietly but deliberately choose cremation as an act of solidarity with murdered relatives. Sensitivity to this mostly unspoken way of working through the legacy of trauma should temper our public rhetoric.

This last question brings us to the crux of the issue. We need to speak with our families not only about our funeral requests, but also about what these requests really mean to us. A request for cremation may express kinship solidarity, or a fear that no one will visit or remember a grave. It may reflect a terror of enclosed spaces — which, given hours in an oven at extreme temperatures, the mechanics of cremation would not seem to assuage. It may represent a hope of easing the burden on our surviving family members, who may or may not see the request in the same way. It often involves a search for some means of avoiding the messy human need to grieve our losses.

Silence intended to spare the feelings of those we love often has the opposite effect at the end of life. The loving courage to speak about what really matters can strengthen our relationships. For our families and communities, as well as for the sake of our planet, it’s vital that we take this conversation to another level.

Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips is a chaplain, educator, and the director of Ways of Peace, which promotes community justice and kindness via mindful responses to human needs throughout the life cycle.

https://forward.com/opinion/156397/confronting-cremation/

Appendix G: Cremation in the Encyclopedia Judaica (2007)

Encyclopedia Judaica on the burial of ashes: (2007)

Chief Rabbi Marcus Nathan Adler of Britain, though opposed to cremation, permitted the ashes of a person who had been cremated to be interred in a Jewish cemetery in 1887. The decision was sustained by his successor, Herman Adler (1891), who quoted the authority of Rabbi Isaac Elhanan Spector. It was also the attitude of Chief Rabbi Zadoc Kahn of France. American Reform rabbis, in accordance with a decision made at the Central Conference of American Rabbis in 1892, are permitted to officiate at cremation ceremonies. Reform rabbis of Europe also often officiate at cremations. A regulation of the United Synagogue of London Burial Society states that "if the ashes can be encoffined, then internment may take place at a cemetery of the United Synagogue, and the Burial Service shall be conducted there at the time of the interment." Ultra-Orthodox communities, however, do not permit the ashes of cremated persons to be buried in their cemeteries.

- P. 281, Volume 5

Appendix H: Other relevant texts

Melamed Le-Ho'il, Yoreh Deah 114:2

It is certainly prohibited to burn a Jewish body after he has passed away, and this is for two reasons:

1. Because by doing this you will have nullified a positive mitzvah, as the Torah states: "Rather you shall surely bury him on that day." And it doesn't matter if you have the ashes; even if you are obligated to bury the ashes, you are no longer able to fulfill the mitzvah of burial, because when the Torah says to bury a body, it means to bury the entire body.

2. It is prohibited to burn a human body, because we see from the Torah and the Talmud that it is a great disgrace to the body to burn it. As we see in the verse in the prophet Amos, the story in tractate Sanhedrin about Yehoyakim's skull and that the sages of the Talmud allow us to violate Shabbat to remove a body from a burning building.

Achiezer 3:72 (R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinksy)

According to the Beit Yitzchak, the reason is that the mitzvah of burial is something our great ancestors have involved themselves in, and one who buries their deceased has faith in the revival of the dead. And if one burns a body, it is as if he denies God's ability to bring back the dead.