Death, Burial, and Bereavement

What happens to people who are not buried in the Land of Israel? Those who are buried outside Eretz Yisroel are transported there through tunnels. This is alluded to in the Gemara (Kesubos 111a), and is stated explicitly in the…

When is it customary to visit a cemetery? It's customary to visit the cemetery on fast days (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 559:10) and before Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur (581:4, 605).

Why don't Jews send flowers to funerals? They don't last, and sending them is a Christian custom.

Is it permitted to bury things with a body? If something were "offered" to the dead as a sacrifice it would be forbidden; see Psalms 106:28. The things "given to" the dead are being destroyed or buried with them as…

Can anyone recite the Kaddish? The kaddish is supposed to be recited only in the presence of ten adult Jewish males. No one is forbidden to recite it, but the obligation of reciting Kaddish for a deceased Jew can only…

What does Judaism say about donating your body to science? In discussing a question of this importance, we should not be influenced by carious “beliefs” and “interpretations” that have been thought up by various individuals throughout our history. We must…

What is the reason behind the law that Jews must be buried by sundown the next day? There is no actual law that Jews must be buried by sundown the next day, although the custom is to bury the deceased…

Can a Jew be cremated? Can he be embalmed? The Torah requires burial; see Deut.21:23, which tells us that even executed criminals must be buried. Disposing of a body in any other way, including cremation, is regarded as desecration of…

Why do we put grass or earth on a tombstone? The source seems to be the B’er Hetev on Orach Chayim 224:8, quoting Derashos MaHaRaSh: We pull up grass or a clod of earth and put it on the monument…