If a Jew wishes to visit a grave at a Christian cemetery (say the grave of a patrilineal grandparent), is it permissible? Does it matter if it is a mostly unadorned cemetery vs. one with pictures of Christian saints or other iconography?
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1The Vilna Gaon was opposed to visiting even Jewish cemeteries.– LoewianMay 28, 2015 at 0:28
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1Why would the halacha be different for an observant Jew versus a nonobservant Jew?– Double AA ♦May 28, 2015 at 2:11
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IIRC, didn't several notable rabbis visit Arlington National Cemetery on various occasions, such as when a notable president died?– DanFMay 28, 2015 at 2:26
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Is the cemetery on church grounds?– Shoel U'MeishivMay 28, 2015 at 7:29
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1A number of years ago there was a high profile murder in Brooklyn of a black ger. his family wanted him buried, if I recall correctly, in his native Carribean country where no Jewish cemetaries existed---at least in that city. The man was a very well-liked member of the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. The "problem" was resolved by securing permission to symbolically build a fence on a plot on cemetery grounds. Although this situation may not address the OP's issue precisely, it does suggest that a Jew may pass through a non-Jewish cemetery without any halakhic difficulty.– JJLLAug 17, 2015 at 4:40
1 Answer
yeshiva.co answers the question whether a Jew can attend a non-Jew's funeral
A Jew can enter a non Jewish cemetery and attend a non Jewish funeral. (see Bava Metziah 114a). The only prohibition is to enter a church if the ceremony takes place there.
According to Jewish law, there is generally no issue with attending a non-Jewish funeral or visiting a non-Jewish cemetery.
If there are pictures, one should not behave in any way that leads to concerns of avoda zara (e.g., prosternating).