Burying The Dead

An unusually large body of Jewish law is concerned with interpersonal relationships, teaching how to properly respect each person, since all of humankind is created b’tzelem Eh-lokim, in the image of God.

The question of respect continues even beyond life. The Jewish laws concerning death, burial and mourning all center on the importance of preserving the dignity of the person who has passed away.

It is for this reason that a Jewish funeral will most often be performed as soon as possible following a person’s death, ideally on the same day. The injunction to bury the dead quickly is based on a verse in this week’s Torah portion, Kee Teitzei, from Deuteronomy (21:23) that states: “His body shall not remain all night…but you shall surely bury him the same day.”

If the Torah states that a person should be buried on the same day as his/her death, one might rightly ask why burials are at times delayed, even more than one day. Apparently, according respect to the dead is so important, it is permissible to delay a burial so that proper funeral arrangements may be made, or to accommodate close relatives who need to travel from afar. One may even delay the burial to wait for the arrival of an important speaker – all in order to show respect for, and honor to, the deceased.

If the Torah teaches that we must show this much respect to the deceased, how much more careful must we be with how we treat our living family, friends and neighbors.