Laws and Customs of a Funeral

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The Mitzvah of Burial

  1. There is a mitzvah to bury a dead body the day of the death.[1] There is also a prohibition to leave a corpse unburied.[2]
  2. Even if a person requests not to spend his money on his burial we bury him from his assets and if he has none we still bury him.[3]
  3. Someone who hastens the process of the burial is praiseworthy except for a parent a child may not rush the burial as doing so is disrespectful.[4]

Where to Do the Burial

  1. Generally it is forbidden to bury someone in another cemetery if there is a closer one in town. Exceptions to this rule include burying the corpse in Israel, burying them in a family plot, or if the deceased left an explicit directive to bury him in a certain location. [5]

Cremation

  1. It is a very serious prohibition to cremate a Jewish body. It is an active commission of the mitzvah of burial and is a great spiritual curse for the deceased.[6]
  2. If a Jew requested to be cremated we can not listen to his listen and rather perform the mitzvah of a proper honorable burial.[7]
  3. If a Jew was cremated the rabbis on his own request the ashes may not be buried in a Jewish cemetery since the person who made such a request lost his kedusha and there is no further disgrace to the family by leaving the ashes not buried. The ashes remain forbidden to be used but there is no obligation to have them buried.[8]

Chevra Kaddisha

  1. The chevra kaddisha should consist of people who are pious and religious.[9]
  2. The chevra kaddisha should not charge exorbitant amounts for the burial.[10]
  3. The deceased should be buried in a tallit[11] but the minhag is not to.[12]

When to do the Burial

  1. Regarding burials on the second day of Yom Tov see Second_Day_of_Yom_Tov#Burials_on_Yom_Tov_Sheni.

Under What Circumstances is it Permitted to Move a Skeleton?

  1. It is forbidden to move a skeleton to rebury it in another grave even to place it in a nicer coffin and grave.[13] Furthermore, it is forbidden to move a skeleton to make more room for another deceased.[14]
  2. It is permitted to move a skeleton to another grave in order to bury someone in a family plot, to move them to Israel, or if they originally buried him with intentions to move him it is permitted. [15]
  3. Additionally, if a grave isn't a protected area and it might be defiled by bandits, by flooding, or if was just a lone abandoned grave (not in a cemetery) it is permitted and it is a mitzvah to move the skeletons. [16]

Respect for the Skeleton

  1. Moving bones it is forbidden to break a bone or split a sinew.[17]
  2. When moving multiple skeletons each one should be placed in a separate coffin. [18]
  3. Technically it is permitted for a person to be involved with the moving of his parent's bones after the flesh has disintegrated, however, it is proper to have someone else do it.[19]
  4. When moving bones it is disrespectful to place the bones in a bag.[20]

Mourning when Moving a Skeleton

  1. If someone moves the bones of a relative he should mourn that day from the moment that the bones are unburied[21]. This aveilut includes the regular halachot of shiva including not sitting on a chair, not wearing shoes, tashmish, bathing, anointing, working, and learning. That night it is permitted.[22]
  2. Since there is only mourning on the day of the day of the moving the bones and not the night therefore the bones shouldn't be moved close to the end of the day since it will turn out that one will not have mourned that day at all.[23]
  3. If someone's relative's bones are being moved he should tear keriya.[24]
  4. There is no lining up at the burial, public comforting of mourners, or seudat havrah publically, however, there is a seudat havrah in their house. There is no eulogy but there are speeches praising the deceased and Hashem in that he takes life and returns it.[25]
  5. Bones may not be moved on Chol Hamoed.[26]
  6. If someone heard that a relative's bone were moved that day he should mourn that day. However, if he only heard about it the next day he doesn't mourn.[27]
  7. Someone involved in the moving of bones and their burial are exempt from mitzvot. [28]
  8. A woman whose husband died and got remarried doesn't observe aveilut for her first husband if they move the skeleton of her first husband.[29]

Sources

  1. ↑ Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvot Aseh no. 231)
  2. ↑ Sanhedrin 46b, Shulchan Aruch YD 362:1
  3. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 348:2 and 3
  4. ↑ Moed Katan 22a, Shulchan Aruch YD 357:2, Chazon Ovadia (Aveilut v. 1 p. 300)
  5. ↑ Shulchan Aruch and Rama YD 363:2
  6. ↑ Gesher Hachaim 1:16:9:1
  7. ↑ Gesher Hachaim 1:16:9:2
  8. ↑ Gesher Hachaim 1:16:9:2
  9. ↑ Chazon Ovadia (Aveilut v. 1 p. 300)
  10. ↑ Pitchei Teshuva 361:1 citing Chatom Sofer YD 329
  11. ↑ Shulchan Aruch 351:2
  12. ↑ Chazon Ovadia (Aveilut v. 1 p. 303), Gesher Hachaim 15:2:1
  13. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 363:1
  14. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 363:3
  15. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 363:1
  16. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 363:1. Chatom Sofer 334 (cited by Pitchei Teshuva YD 363:1) permitted to moving an entire cemetery which was given to the Jews on loan because of a plague. He explained that majority of the deceased had relatives in the other Jewish cemetery and so they can be moved to a family plot and everyone else can be moved so that they aren't in a deserted area that will be defiled.
  17. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:6
  18. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:8
  19. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:7
  20. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:10
  21. ↑ Shach YD 403:1
  22. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:1
  23. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:1
  24. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:2
  25. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:3
  26. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:4. In Moed Katan 8a there is a dispute between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yose if it is permitted to move a relative's bones on Chol Hamoed. Rabbi Meir says it is permitted since anyway one will be gladdened by the joy of the moed and Rabbi Yose says that it is forbidden since it is causes a person to mourn which is inappropriate for Chol Hamoed. The Ramban holds like Rabbi Meir and Rambam like Rabbi Yosef. The Shulchan Aruch follows the Rambam.
  27. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:5
  28. ↑ Shulchan Aruch YD 403:1
  29. ↑ Pitchei Teshuva YD 403:2 citing Chatom Sofer 355
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