Transcription
Well, I would want to try to find what’s the reason. What’s the reason that this person wants to cremate their loved one? Was this the loved one’s wish? Is it just a cheaper option? Is this easier? Is it cleaner? Here, Judaism teaches that every human being should be returned to the earth. Goes back to the early days of the Bible, the early days of Genesis, where we’re taught that man was created from the dust of the earth, and that from dust to dust, you know, that you return to the dust after your life passes. So we believe in burial. I remember hearing that the recently deceased Rabbi Schochet, of blessed memory, once had a situation where he received a phone call from a community rabbi that this particular example was about to transpire. And the Rabbi Schochet said to his caller, find out what’s the reason. So the rabbi spoke with the son of the deceased and said, why do you want to cremate? He says, well, if I bury my mother here and then I move, I won’t have connection with her anymore. This way, you know, it’s crazy even just to put these things into words, but this way her ashes will be in an urn and it’ll be on my mantel place above my fireplace, and wherever I am in the world, I’ll be able to have my mother with me. That was his particular concern in his situation. Rabbi Schochet said in his brilliance, he said, cut a lock of her hair and keep that lock of her hair with you. So the next day he went in, long hair, he braided the hair, or the nurse braided the hair, they cut off the braid, and she was buried. Because this way he was able to have that tangible piece of his mother with him wherever he went, and she was still able to follow Jewish tradition and have a traditional burial.