Transcription:
With the large refrigerated units that we now have, we can forestall the deterioration of the deceased’s remains. However, we didn’t always have these refrigerated units. Therefore, it became Jewish practice to have someone watch over the deceased individual’s remains as a means of protecting it, that there shouldn’t be any deterioration or damage to the body until it can be taken for interment. The idea is, again, showing respect. I mean, the Middle East is a very hot environment, and there would be more rapid deterioration for an individual who’s deceased. That’s one of the reasons why Judaism developed the concept of rapid interment, burying someone the same day they pass away, if at all possible, because it’s seen as a means of trying to extend respect and honour to the deceased to inter them before there’s any deterioration. So Jewish tradition and the laws of avelos, of mourning, and bereavement, and grieving, give a format, a roadmap of what to do so you’re restoring a sense of empowerment to those who are bereaved, teaching them what Jews do at this juncture. And you do that because it gives you focus, and it restores a sense of your being able to do something for your loved one, even if you can’t restore them to life, there’s still something you can do on their behalf. So whether that’s sitting shiva, whether that’s saying the Kaddish, whatever it is, whether it’s learning Torah in the merit of the soul of your deceased loved one, whether it’s practicing acts of kindness in their zchus, in the merit of the loved one who’s passed away, these are all things that you can do here, now, in this world, and give honor to the memory of your loved one, to elevate their soul in the next world.