www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Cremation: Yes or No?

Stuart,

Does Jewish tradition allow embalming?

Alice

I believe so, too, though over the centuries it was a common superstition that the body had to be intact. This is a common belief across many cultures, and appears to be deep-rooted. A number of peoples, for instance, believe that what you lose in this life, you lack in the afterlife. Thus, the American Indians would commonly mutilate their dead enemies, hacking off hands and poking out eyes, to ensure that they would not pose a threat in the afterlife.

Jewish law even to this day requires that a body be intact at burial, and if the body is dismembered or blood is spilled, then as much of it as possible must be gathered up and buried with the principal remains. Thus, in the aftermath of a terrorist bombing in Israel, it is not uncommon to see the relatives of the victims on their hands and knees trying to mop up the blood and retrieve any small bits of remains that the authorities might have missed.

Among Christians, particularly in the Middle Ages, it was a commonly believed that those buried closes to the altar of a church would be resurrected first, and the nobility, higher clergy, gentry and wealthy burgers paid a handsome premium to get plots in the nave hard up against the chancel rail (go look in medieval churches--there are crypts in the floor all over, some not very deep, and in the summer the stench must have been appalling (all the more reason to use lots of incense).

No. But among some branches of Judaism, there is an interesting rabbinical exception. If you INJECT the remains, but do not allow and drainage, it does not count as embalming.

Bob

I had not heard of that, and am not sure as to how it would work, given the non-compressibility of fluids. I wonder why it would be necessary, since in every jurisdiction that requires embalming, there is a religious exemption specifically for Jews.

Stuart:

It's easy. I've embalmed bodies for over 30 years, but a friend who interned with me went to a large Jewish firm and told me how it was done routinely. Bodies are elastic and they inject only the head upwards at low pressure so that the few families who request a quick look can see a natural appearance. In the firm he worked, 9 families asked for this "quick look" out of about 950 per year.

There is no jurisdiction in the country that requires embalming. there used to be a requirement for certain contagious diseases in PA, but the regulations have been published in recent years with no mention of them at all-the time I took my licensing exam and we were required to list them from memory: amebiasis, anthrax, etc.

The advent of the FTC Funeral Rule has made this area one that one really must be careful of. I wouldn't tell anyone embalming is required unless I could show why in the law or had a direct order from the medical examiner/coroner.

Bob

dear Bob:

if one were buried in one's parish cemetery (eg where members got a free plot),
and one did not bother with either a casket or embalming,
and the mourners buried the person
- would the only expense be opening the grave and the monument?

and how expense would be the digging/opening of the grave?

thanks.

herb

That's a relief--I had some very unpleasant images in my mind for a while. But at the same time, Jewish law requires bodies to be interred within 24 hours, if possible. So, if the family is strictly observant, decomposition should not be a problem, except in rare situations.

Stuart:

This injection is not about decomp, but to clear the face of any discolorations for that brief look. Remember that the body is enshrouded so that nothing else is visible and usually there is a cloth napkin--like the aer--that covers the face.

Bob

Ah. I suppose that works better than wax and makeup? At least in the short run?

Almost every cemetery requires a cement burial vault so that the ground does not settle and hollow when decomposition occurs. A basic vault is around $700.00. That is also the general cost for a grave opening.

My parish's Cemetery Association has decided to be very generous for committal of cremated remains. Families are NOT required to purchase a vault; they may dig the internment space themselves or have the professionals do it, or they may scatter the cremains on the surface. The only limitation is that only two cremation burials are permitted on a single traditional grave space.

I have officiated at two cremation burials (one for my parents) at which the mourners themselves filled in the grave. It was profoundly moving and an excellent expression of the Christian community paying its final respects and offering its final act of mercy.

I am starting to find this thread a bit unsettling, but I will chime in that having seen two relatives before their burial in Greece, where they are not embalmed, I have to say that they looked much more natural and like themselves than the embalmed do here. I scarcely recognize the deceased here!

I concur.