Questions tagged [funeral-burial-levaya]
Questions pertaining to the funeral/burial process in Judaism
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What to do with detached/seperated hair of the deceased?
In Western culture, giving a lock of hair to a loved one used to be a common practice. According to halakhah, may the recipient of a lock of hair continue to posses it after the death of the giver?
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Apparently "above-ground mausoleums" are forbidden for burying the dead in Judaism, but what about underground mausoleums or underground tombs?
According to this relatively short article on the Chabad.org website, it seems that "above-ground mausoleums" are forbidden for burying the dead, but what about underground mausoleums or ...
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How is a funeral held without a minyan?
This issue especially concerns the reading of Kaddish after Ha-Kvura.
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Burying in the same grave space
What halachic rules (or minhagim) apply to burying more than one person in a single grave space, in other words one coffin on top of another? Is it permissible for husband and wife, or father/son or ...
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How do we reconcile the 2 burial places of Rachel?
Rachel's burial place is located south of Jerusalem, near Bethlehem (in the territory of Judah) by Gen 48:7. But it is located north of Jerusalem (Zelzah/Ramah) in the territory of Benjamin by 1 ...
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What prayers and psalms are read during shmira near the body of the deceased?
Of particular interest are the prayers and the order of reading the psalms in Nusach Ashkenaz.
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Does Being Buried next to Christians Affect the Soul of a Ben/Bat Noach?
I asked this question once and never got an answer and part of it is because historically the only reasons why Gentiles approached the Jewish community was either to convert them or for blood libels. ...
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In what year were the Jews in Beitar killed? In what year were they allowed to be buried?
Wondering how many years were they not allowed to be buried for. What year were they finally allowed?
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Were there rabbinic objections when grave digging went from manually-powered to machine?
There are lots of responsa when matza-baking machines were introduced instead of everyone doing it by hand. When power machinery came up to make grave-digging faster/easier, did any rabbis object that ...
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What fabric maybe used for Tachrichim?
What fabric may be used for tachrichim (burial shrouds)?
This is purely not practical halacha, just discussing this question with a friend.
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Re-using non-Jewish tombstones
Previously I had a question about desecrating Jewish gravestones, but now I would have one in the opposite direction. In Christian cemeteries it's fairly common to dismantle graves after a few decades ...
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Jerusalem Sand at a Burial
I just observed an on-line remote funeral service for my cousin. As part of the service, the Rabbi took out a bag of sand which he said was specially flown in from Jerusalem. He spread the sand in the ...
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Cutting up the concubine of Gibeah
I've been learning Prophets on the Shabbat, and honestly, I was quite disturbed by the violent fate of the concubine of Gibeah. But even worse, the poor woman was cut up into 12 pieces by a Levite ...
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Has Yakov set a pattern that when planning is possible, we should value more being buried with our parents rather than with our cherished spouse?
In Genesis 49: 30 - 33 (Sefaria)
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בַּמְּעָרָ֞ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר בִּשְׂדֵ֧ה הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֛ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־פְּנֵי־מַמְרֵ֖א בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן אֲשֶׁר֩ קָנָ֨ה אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה מֵאֵ֛ת עֶפְרֹ֥ן הַחִתִּ֖י ...
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On tunneling to Israel after death
I don't understand this passage in the Talmud:
The righteous outside of Eretz Yisrael will be resurrected and roll [until they reach Eretz Yisrael]… Rabbi Abba Salla Rava strongly objects to this: ...
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What became of Hevel's body?
We read of his fate but we are not told if he was buried or who may have buried him. We can presume Adam and Chava grieved and gave his body a resting place but that is speculation. Is there drash ...
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Maaneh Lashon - Book
My grandfather used to use this book when he was alive to daven at the cemeteries of his relatives each year.
https://i.stack.imgur.com/RMNwb.jpg
(The first pages are different but the rest looks ...
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Miriam's Death in the Midbar
Why wasn't Miriam's body taken to Eretz Yisrael for burial when she died?
In her merit, the well followed B'Nei Yisrael in the desert. She saved Moshe by taking care of him as a baby in the Nile River....
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How do you halachically preserve a body if the ground is frozen?
Typically, traditional Jewish burial law calls for a speedy burial in the ground, with no embalming or other unnatural preservation of the body. But what about if the ground is too frozen? Nowadays, ...
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Allowance for cremation if no space in Jewish cemetery?
Is it permissible to be cremated if one does not have space for burial in a cemetery?
Source, please.
Note: Not related to recent events (ie coronavirus).
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Is cremation halachically lawful for the Gentiles?
I am an Italian noahide.
I wonder if Halakhah allows Gentiles to cremate bodies. My personal opinion is that this practice does not violate Noahide Laws, as it is not included in one of the relevant ...
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Allowances for Cremation [duplicate]
Are there any Jewish sources that permit cremation? Jews generally frown upon cremation since the body was created by G-d and should be treated with respect (out of respect for G-d). However, some ...
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Why doesn’t mes mitzvah push aside shabbos?
If mes mitzvah is doche avoda and avoda is doche shabbos. Shouldn’t mes mitzvah be doche shabbos? Simple logic
If A is greater than B and B is greater than C
Logic dictates that A is greater than C....
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Looking for compilation of Burial halachot & minhagim
Based on what I have read on this site and heard from a rav, the majority of what most people currently do during burial is minhag rather than halacha.
Is there a written or online compilation of ...
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Is it OK to mummify a corpse?
בראשית נ ב-ג
וַיְצַ֨ו יוֹסֵ֤ף אֶת־עֲבָדָיו֙ אֶת־הָרֹ֣פְאִ֔ים לַחֲנֹ֖ט אֶת־אָבִ֑יו
וַיַּחַנְט֥וּ הָרֹפְאִ֖ים אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ וַיִּמְלְאוּ־לוֹ֙
אַרְבָּעִ֣ים י֔וֹם כִּ֛י כֵּ֥ן יִמְלְא֖וּ יְמֵ֣י ...
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In Avraham's story, what's the importance of his burial place, Meoras hamachpeila?
The Torah spends a couple of pages describing Avraham's desire to [be buried and] bury Sarah in a particular place - the Cave of the patriarchs. I find it difficult to comprehend this desire.
After ...
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If a condition to bury someone's body wasn't upheld, is one allowed to exhume the body?
A follow up to this recent question "(Why) May a Beit Din refuse to bury a body in order to coerce a man into giving a divorce?" where a Jewish burial society was instructed to not bury the body of a ...
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(Why) May a Beit Din refuse to bury a body in order to coerce a man into giving a divorce?
I read recently of a case where a Rabbi (I assume as head of a Beit Din) instructed a Jewish burial society not to bury the body of a woman who is the mother of a man who refuses to give his wife a ...
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Burial with Geniza
I once heard a Rav say that one way in which he disposes of his stash of Geniza is to bury it with the deceased if the family allows. He claimed that it was a segula (I can’t recall his source). I ...
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What is the rule regarding a dead person's shomer during a flight?
A shomer from my local Chevra Kadisha explained to me that a dead body needs to be constantly watched and never left alone until burial. He also explained that about every 20 minutes, they say ...
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Why didn't Moses and his siblings ask to be buried in Israel?
It appears that the merit of being buried in the Holy Land of Israel is huge and our forefathers, as well as numerous prominent Rabbis, demanded to be buried here.
Why didn't Moses, Aharon and ...
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Human Composting - Implications for Kohanim
In recent news, Washington State, has becomes the first state ever to allow human composting.
The question has already been raised in this forum: "Is there a halachic objection to human composting?"
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Minyan for Brit Milah, Funeral & Wedding
Is a Minyan required for a Brit Mila/circumcision, funeral/burial, or for a wedding/Chuppa?
Usually they tend to be done in the presence of a Minyan but is it an obligation and are there any ...
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Burial of a convert out of Judaism
A Jewish man converts to Christianity and becomes estranged from his family. When he dies, his next-of-kin is his brother. Is the brother obligated to bury the deceased as a Christian, or can he bury ...
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Which names are given at burial?
The custom is for the Chevra Kadisha to name a baby who dies before being named.
What names are customarily used in this sad scenario?
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We need ten consolers; why not ten mourners?
The mishna, M'gila 23 amud 2 as described by Rashi, says we don't say the mourners' outdoor blessing without the presence of ten people, and the mourners themselves don't count toward the requisite ...
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Source for Cremation Specifically Not Jewish
A respected Rabbinic figure recently mentioned that one of the Rishonim - maybe Tosfos - writes that אין דרך בני ישראל לשרוף מתיהם: burning a Jew's lifeless body is not the Jewish way. Where is this ...
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Gravesite Kaddish
I have noticed at funerals that some people face the grave while saying Kaddish and at others face a different direction.
Is there a reason for it for both ways?
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Is a woman obligated to attend her husband's funeral?
An elderly woman cares for her sick husband for many years with great devotion until she can't do it anymore and has to put him in a nursing home. Her children convince her to take a long cruise to ...
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Is it acceptable to disturb a body so it may be reburied in Israel?
This question slightly merges into politics as there has been a push by some to reclaim Jewish remains and bring them back to Israel. This has actually already been done a few times, a famous example ...
user15672
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How long must a grave remain a grave?
I was recently reading an article which suggested planting trees over graves which made me think of this question...
How long does Jewish law require a grave to remain as a grave for the original ...
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Egg shell and pottery for a dead person?
A Shabbat guest told me that he had heard that there is a custom to put a cracked egg shell on a dead person's eyes and a piece of pottery in the dead person's mouth prior to burial.
I'm completely ...
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Must one honor a parent who is liable to capital punishment?
I was recently reading something about whether or not it would be right for this woman to show up to her father’s funeral who was a convicted murderer. She did not want to, and people were discussing ...
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To say Kaddish at the cemetery after burial, do the mourners count as part of the minyan?
I understand that onenim cannot be counted as part of the minyan. Thus, at the cemetery, when saying the Kaddish can they be counted as part of the minyan or do we need 10 others besides them?
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Why did Yakov ask for a favor from Yosef instead of commanding him?
Gen 47, 29:
"וַיִּקְרְבוּ יְמֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לָמוּת וַיִּקְרָא לִבְנוֹ לְיוֹסֵף וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ
אִם־נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ שִׂים־נָא יָדְךָ תַּחַת יְרֵכִי
וְעָשִׂיתָ עִמָּדִי חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת ...
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Promise on a death bed
I once read that if a person makes a promise on their death bed to another person that they would come back to them in a dream and tell them whatever they wanted to know, then this is considered a ...
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Are there halachos on how to give a hesped (eulogy)?
Are there any halachos pertaining to how one should or should not give a hesped?
If so, what are they?
If not, are there general guidelines based on what the goal of a hesped is?
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Sephardi burial in a talit
In the Shulchan Aruch (YD 351), the Mechebar writes that a man is buried in a talit with tzitzit, and the Rema adds that the tzitzit are made posul. Some googling (as well as checking with my local ...
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Attending a Christian Funeral in a church
Is it permissible for a Jew to attend a Christian funeral service? Specifically, in a church?
If so, is it a serious breach of Jewish law? How serious? How can one perform redemption for such a breach?...
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Is it permitted to call the police on Shabbos if you come across a dead person?
Violating the Shabbos in a case a life threatening situation is a mitzvah (Yoma 84)
However what if one comes across a dead person on Shabbos. Normally one would report this to the police. However on ...
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