Parshat Vayechi: Honoring The Departed

 

The Torah provides clear and sacred guidelines for treating the body of a deceased individual, as seen in Parshat Vayechi. These commandments emphasize respect for the body and the importance of burial in the earth. As it states in Bereishit 3:19:

“…until you return to the ground, for you were taken therefrom, for dust you are, and to dust you will return.”

A corpse must be buried on the same day of death, and it should not remain unburied overnight except for reasons of honor, such as awaiting the arrival of the deceased’s children. Even those who committed grave crimes and were executed under Torah law had to be buried by the end of the day. Yehoshua, the disciple of Moshe, adhered to this commandment when he buried the five defeated kings before sunset (Yehoshua 10:27).

Jewish law prohibits certain burial practices. For example, bodies cannot be buried in zinc coffins. If buried in wooden coffins, the wood must have holes to facilitate the natural return to the earth. Additionally, deriving any benefit from a corpse, such as harvesting hair or teeth, is strictly forbidden.

The Torah condemns cremation as a grave sin. This is illustrated by the punishment G-d inflicted on Moav for burning the bones of the king of Edom (Amos 2:1-3). It is far better to bury a loved one far from home, and not have the later opportunity to visit the grave, than to violate the commandment and cremate the body.

Other burial laws include:

Not burying individuals who were enemies in their lifetimes next to one another.

Separating the righteous from the sinner in burial plots.

Ensuring that Jewish communities maintain their own cemeteries wherever they live.

Personal Reflections from Soviet Labor Camps

During my time in a Soviet labor camp, I often found myself preoccupied with a single thought: “I don’t want to be buried here. I want to be buried among Jews in a Jewish cemetery.” These thoughts haunted me, even as I tried to push them aside.

Later, I learned that many others, including relatives, who endured expulsion during the harrowing years of 1941–1945 experienced the same longing. Living in foreign lands devoid of Jewish cemeteries, they shared my yearning to rest among their people.

On more than one occasion, acquaintances approached me in secret, often with tears in their eyes, asking for my help to ensure they would receive a proper Jewish burial. Some of these requests came from individuals I never expected to care about such matters, yet the sanctity of Jewish burial deeply resonated within their hearts.

 By Rav Yitzchok Zilber ztk"l
Founder, Toldot Yeshurun