Can a Jew be cremated and can he/she then have a Jewish funeral?

Vocabulary used in this answer:

• B’deiavad - after the fact
• B’hatchila - from the beginning
• Kavod - honor
• Met - the dead, therefore Kavod HaMet is the honor due the dead.
• Mavet - death
• K’vurah - internment/burial
• Aninut - the period of time between mavet and k’vurah.
• Onen - a family member in the period of aninut
• K’riaH - the tearing of the garment, or a ribbon pinned to the garment.
• Avel - a mourner
• Shivah - the seven day period of mourning
• Kaddish Yatom - the mourner’s prayer/the mourner’s kaddish
• Yizkor - the memorial service performed during the three festivals — Pesach, Shavout, Sukkot — and on Yom Kippur
• El Male Rachamim - the memorial prayer chanted at funerals and yizkor services.

Answer:

    While Jewish custom is relatively clear on this issue, and our legal authorities all follow one path on the subject, our tradition is far from absolute on the topic of cremation and a great deal of diversity exists.

    The Bible commands us to “return to the ground because it was from the ground you were taken” (Genesis 3:19), and in the case of one killed by capital punishment to “Bury, yes, bury them” (Deuteronomy 21:23). But the Bible also contains numerous examples of people killed by burning as punishment, and an example of King Saul’s body being burned after being killed by the Philistines. A Medieval commentator and specialist on grammar David Qimhi points out that in the story of Saul, his body was probably partially decomposed because the Philistines displayed the corpse on the city walls, and therefore the Israelites probably only burned the rotting flesh and then buried the bones. From these sources, we see that the Bible leans in the direction of burial, or kvurah, as the proper treatment for the deceased, but does allow some leeway for burning.

    Post-biblical writing follows the same approach: a very strong lean in the direction of kvurah, but slivers of evidence that burning might be permissible. In Talmud Sanhedrin 46b, Rabbi Simon ben Yohai and Rabbi Aha bar Jacob strongly argue that kvurah is the only Jewish way of treating the deceased. Rabbi Aha bar Jacob even gets angry at a colleague who does not immediately teach the same approach. Later on that same page, the rabbis argue that even if the deceased had given instructions not to be buried, those instructions should be disregarded in favor of kvurah. Despite the strong support for kvurah, the rabbis do instruct that a body should not be removed from a burning house on Shabbat (Shabbat 43b). Therefore, the Shabbat case indicates that b’hatchila, from the beginning, we should always plan for kvurah, but b’deiavad, after the fact, if a body is burned, nobody will be punished.

    All following Jewish law follows the line that kvurah is the only proper way to treat the deceased. While some authorities call this a mitzvah, a commandment, the consensus seems to be that it is minhag, custom. But remember that throughout our history, the line between custom and law has been very thin. Customs become law very easily.

    The explanation for this strong approach is that while we own our soul, the body belongs to God, we only borrow it. Therefore cremation dishonors God. Later Hasidic sources, expanded upon this idea saying that the soul needs time to separate from the body. Therefore we allow the body to decompose naturally in a wooden casket, instead of severing the connection between soul and body abruptly.

    A more modern perspective comes from living after the Holocaust. Although the circumstances are extremely different, many Jews see a person’s decision to cremate as disrespectful to the millions of Jews who had no choice and whose bodies were cremated by the Nazis. (For the same reason, many Jews frown upon tattoos, or even writing on the body, because it is reminiscent of the tattoos in the camps.)

    Another modern argument in favor of kvurah is the effect that cremation has on the mourners, the avelim. While some people ask to be cremated and have their ashes scattered, this deprives the avelim of a physical focal point for mourning. Having a location for mourning, like a cemetery, helps contextualize death and provide transition to the mourning family. For this reason, many rabbis recommend that even if the deceased requests cremation, that the ashes be buried in a cemetery.

    One traditional source that might support the decision to cremate is the issue of economics. Jewish law strongly supports the idea that the family’s economic circumstance should be considered when making burial decisions. This derives from Rabban Gamliel’s decision to be buried on a plain bier (Talmud Moed Katan 27a-b). Because of the high costs of caskets, funeral homes, and other costs, a cremation may be necessary as an economic need. Many communities set up a free-burial fund to avoid this situation, so that less well-off Jews can bury their families.

    Modern environmentalist Jews argue the position that cremation should be encouraged as a way of limiting land use, deforestation and habitat loss from the construction of cemeteries. This is an important ethical position that should be considered.

    Although the question appears simple, it presents difficult and challenging issues. When a family member has died, we are always faced with competing demands and priorities. One priority is the honor due to the dead, Kavod HaMet, while the other is the obligation comforting the Avelim, the mourners. The issue of cremation is relatively clear in Jewish law, but becomes complicated when the desires of the deceased and of the surviving family are in conflict—usually when the deceased requests cremation and the survivors oppose it. Jewish law is clear that before burial, we must put all of our energies towards the treatment of the deceased. But after burial, Jewish law also takes the obligation to comfort mourners very seriously. For this reason, if cremation would obstruct the ability to mourn, the family may want to consider overriding the wishes of the deceased. This is a highly sensitive decision, one that must be considered individually. I strongly recommend families to discuss their wishes for death or cremation far in advance. Although it might feel morbid, this type of open and honest discussion can help to honor both the deceased and the surviving family.

    As for the question of funeral services. Because Jewish law does not even discuss the possibility of cremation, it does not address the issue of a funeral for a person who has been cremated. Some Orthodox communities might chose to refuse funeral services for such a person, but this is a form of social duress, not Jewish law.

    Since 1893, Reform Judaism has supported, even encouraged, its rabbis to officiate at funeral services in the case of cremation because of the way that a funeral honors and supports the mourning family. This is the approach that I follow.

- Rabbi Michael Holzman

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