BURIAL

In the Bible

Decent burial was regarded to be of great importance in ancient Israel, as in the rest of the ancient Near East. Not only the Egyptians, whose extravagant provision for the dead is well known, but also the peoples of Mesopotamia dreaded above all else the thought of lying unburied. One of the most frequently employed curses found in Mesopotamian texts is: "May the earth not receive your corpses," or the equivalent. In the same way one can measure the importance that Israelites attached to burial by the frequency with which the Bible refers to the fear of being left unburied. Thus, one of the curses for breach of the covenant is: "Thy carcasses shall be food unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth" (Deut. 28:26). Again and again the prophets use this threat, especially Jeremiah. He says, in judgment on King Jehoiakim, "He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem" (22:19).

There is also abundant positive evidence for the importance of burial. Abraham's purchase of the cave at Machpelah as a family tomb (Gen. 23) and the subsequent measures taken by later patriarchs to ensure that they would be buried there (Gen. 49:29–33; 50:25–26) occupy a prominent place in the patriarchal narratives. Biblical biographies ordinarily end with the statement that a man died, and an account of his burial (e.g., Josh. 24:30), especially if this was in some way unusual (e.g., that of Uzziah, the leprous king, ii Chron. 26:23); this is not only a literary convention, but reflects the value assigned to proper interment. To give a decent burial to a stranger ranks with giving bread to the hungry and garments to the naked (Tob. 1:17–18). Tombs of the Israelite period in Palestine show that considerable, though not lavish, care was given by those who could afford it, to the hewing out of tombs and the provision of grave goods.

Nevertheless, this assessment of the importance of decent burial must be qualified. Archaeology reveals no distinctively Israelite burial practices during almost the whole of the biblical period. The Israelites continued to use modes of burial employed in Palestine long before the conquest. It follows that it is risky to draw firm conclusions about Israelite religious beliefs on the basis of specific burial practices, e.g., the provision of grave goods or lack of them, communal or individual burial, and so on, since any or all of these may have been dictated by immemorial custom rather than by consciously held conviction. The law says relatively little about burial, and where it treats the subject, the concern is to avoid defilement by the dead (Num. 19:16; Deut. 21:22–23). The dead do not praise God, they are forgotten and cut off from His hand (Ps. 88:6, 10–12), and in consequence mourning and the burial of the dead are at most peripheral matters in Israelite religion.

The one thing expressed most clearly by Israelite burial practices is the common human desire to maintain some contact with the community even after death, through burial in one's native land at least, and if possible with one's ancestors. "Bury me with my fathers," Jacob's request (Gen. 49:29), was the wish of every ancient Israelite. Thus, the aged Barzillai did not wish to go with David, "that i may die in mine own city, [and be buried] by the grave of my father and of my mother" (ii Sam. 19:38); and Jerusalem was beloved to Nehemiah, in exile, as "the city of my fathers' sepulchers" (Neh. 2:5). In harmony with this desire, the tomb most typical of the Israelite period is a natural cave or a chamber cut into soft rock, near the city. Bodies would be laid on rock shelves provided on three sides of the chamber, or on the floor, and as generations of the same family used the tomb, skeletons and grave goods might be heaped up along the sides or put into a side chamber to make room for new burials. This practice of family burial, though not universal if only because not all could afford it (see references to the graves of the common people in ii Kings 23:6; Jer. 26:23), was common enough to give rise to the Hebrew expressions "to sleep with one's fathers" (e.g., i Kings 11:23) and "to be gathered to one's kin" (Gen. 25:8; et al.) as synonyms for "to die."

There is no explicit biblical evidence as to how soon after death burial took place (Deut. 21:23 refers to hanged criminals only), but it is likely that it was ordinarily within a day after death. This was dictated by the climate and by the fact that the Israelites did not embalm the dead (Jacob and Joseph were embalmed following Egyptian custom, Gen. 50:2, 26). *Cremation was not practiced by the ancient Israelites. There is no archaeological evidence that this was their practice, and the references to "burnings" at the funeral of certain kings (Jer. 34:5; ii Chron. 16:14; 21:19) presumably refer to the burning of incense or some of the king's possessions, not the body. On the other hand, it may be going too far to say, as is often done, that cremation was regarded as an outrage. That the men of Jabesh-Gilead burned the mutilated bodies of Saul and his sons is not spoken of as a desecration, but as part of their loyalty (ḥesed) to their overlord (I Sam. 31:9–13; ii Sam. 2:5). The references to burning of certain criminals, often cited in this connection, refer to a mode of execution, not to a mode of burial (Gen. 38:24; Lev. 20:14; 21:9), and note the remarkable way in which the Mishnah (Sanh. 7:2) prescribes that this be carried out – burning of the corpse is not involved. Bodies were buried clothed and carried to the tomb on a bier (ii Sam. 3:31), but not in a coffin. Joseph's coffin is to be understood as Egyptian custom (Gen. 50:26).

The New Testament sheds some light on Jewish burial practices of the first century c.e. Jesus' disciples took his body, bought a great quantity of myrrh and aloes, "and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury" (John 19:40). There was a delay in completing the preparation of the body for burial because of the Sabbath (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56). Luke (7:11–17) gives a vivid picture of the simple funeral of the poor; the body of a young man of Nain is borne out of the city on a pallet, clothed but without coffin, followed by the weeping mother and "much people of the city."

[Delbert Roy Hillers]

In Post-Biblical Times

Rabbinic legend stressed the antiquity of inhumation by relating that Adam and Eve learned the art of burial from a raven which showed them how to dispose of the body of their dead son Abel by scratching away at a spot in the earth where it had interred one of its own kin (pdre 21). Maimonides ruled that even a testamentary direction not to be buried is to be overruled by the scriptural injunction of burial (Maim. Yad, Evel, 12:1 and Sefer ha-Mitzvot, Positive Commandments no. 231). The Talmud (Git. 61a) rules that the burial of gentiles is also a religious duty (cf. Tosef., Git. 5:5 and tj, Git. 5:9, 47c).

In talmudic times, burial took place in caves, hewn tombs, sarcophagi, and catacombs; and a secondary burial, i.e., a re-interment (*likkut aẓamot) of the remains sometimes took place about one year after the original burial in *ossuaries (Maim. Yad, Evel, 12:8). The rabbinic injunction (Sanh. 47a) that neither the righteous and the sinners, nor two enemies (Jeroham b. Meshullam, Sefer Adam ve-Ḥavvah (Venice, 1553), 231d, netiv 28) should be buried side by side is the origin of the custom of reserving special rows in the cemetery for rabbis, scholars, and prominent persons.

Jewish custom insists on prompt burial as a matter of respect for the dead, a consideration of particular relevance in hot climates. According to one kabbalistic source, burial refreshes the soul of the deceased, and only after burial will it be admitted to God's presence (Midrash ha-Ne'lam to Ruth; cf. Zohar, Ex. 151a). The precedents set by the prompt burials of Sarah (Gen. 23) and of Rachel (Gen. 35:19) are reinforced by the Torah's express command that even the body of a man who had been hanged shall not remain upon the tree all night, but "thou shalt surely bury him the same day" (Deut. 21:23). The Talmud (bk 81a) states that speedy burial of a corpse found unattended (met mitzvah) was one of the ten enactments ordained by Joshua at the conquest of Canaan and is incumbent even on the high priest who was otherwise forbidden to become unclean through contact with the dead (Nazir 7:1). Josephus records that it is forbidden to let a corpse lie unburied (Apion, 2:211), and consideration for the dead is one of the central features of Tobit (2:8). Some delays in burial are, however, justified: "Honor of the dead" demands that the proper preparation for a coffin and shrouds be made, and that relatives and friends pay their last respects (Sanh. 47a; Sh. Ar., yd 357:1). Even then, however, only a few hours should elapse (David b. Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, Responsa, Warsaw ed., 1 (1882), no. 311). In talmudic times, while the burial was not delayed, graves were "watched" for a period of three days to avoid all possibility of pseudo-death (Sem. 8:1). Later, however, it became customary to bury as soon after death as possible and in 1772, when the duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (with Moses Mendelssohn's approval) decreed an interval of three days before the burial, the leading rabbinic authorities protested vigorously (Ḥatam Sofer, yd 338). Certain delays are unavoidable. Funerals may not take place on the Sabbath or on the Day of Atonement; and although the rabbis at one time permitted funerals on the first day of a festival, provided that certain functions were performed by gentiles, and regarded the second day of yom tov as a weekday as far as the dead are concerned (Beẓah 6a), some modern communities prefer postponement. Where there are two interments at the same time, respect demands that the burial of a scholar precedes that of an am ha-areẓ ("average citizen"), and that of a woman always precedes that of a man.

The duty of burial, although primarily an obligation incumbent on the heirs (Gen. 23:3 and 25:9; Ket 48a), ultimately rests with the whole community. In talmudic times, the communal fraternal societies (*ḥevra kaddisha) for the burial of the dead evolved out of an appreciation of this duty (mk 27b).

Similarly, escorting the dead (especially a deceased scholar) to his last resting place is considered a great mitzvah "the fruit of which a man enjoys in this world while the stock remains for him in the world to come" (Pe'ah 1:1 as adapted in the morning service). It justifies even an interruption in the study of the Torah (Ket. 17a and Sh. Ar., yd 361:1) and is called "the true kindness" (ḥesed shel emet) since one can expect no reciprocation of any sort (Rashi to Gen. 47:29; cf. Gen. R., ad loc.). Josephus states that "All who pass by when a corpse is buried must accompany the funeral and join in the lamentations" (Apion, 2:205); the minimum duty is to rise as the funeral cortege passes (tj, Bik. 3:3, 65c; Sh. Ar., yd 361:4), and accompany it for four cubits ("four paces"). "One who sees a funeral procession and does not escort it," states the Talmud (Ber. 18a), "transgresses thereby 'whoso mocketh the poor (i.e., the dead) blasphemeth his Maker' (Prov. 17:5), and should be placed under a ban" (yd 361:3). Only if the hearse passes a bridal cortege is the bride given preference: to honor the living is considered greater than to honor the dead (Ket. 17a, Sem. 11:6, although cf. Maimonides' conflicting opinion, Yad, Evel 14:8). A custom instituted by kabbalists, and still largely observed in Jerusalem, forbids sons to follow the bier of their father and attend his funeral.

In rabbinic times, funeral processions were led by lamenting female mourners, often professionals. The Mishnah quotes R. Judah as ruling that "even the poorest in Israel should hire not less than two flutes and one wailing woman" for his wife's funeral (Ket. 4:4). Women also composed elegies that were chanted aloud, as evidenced by the Talmud's inclusion of eight elegies attributed to the women of Shoken-Zeb in Babylon (mk 28b). Prohibitions against women's voices being heard in public were relaxed for funerary rituals (Kid. 80b; Suk. 52a). The more elaborate ancient rituals have either disappeared or been modernized. The recital of psalms in the home still precedes the burial act; however, the custom of having musicians (Ket. 46b), torchbearers, and barefooted professional mourners in the funeral procession has been discontinued. In Great Britain, the custom of reciting the meḥillah (asking pardon of the corpse on the arrival at the cemetery) was discontinued by Chief Rabbi Marcus Adler in 1887. The dressing (halbashah) of the dead (even princes) in costly garments of gold or silver is forbidden (Maim., Yad, Evel 4:2), despite the rabbis' view that anyone who dresses the dead in comely shrouds (takhrikhim, from the Hebrew verb "to wrap up") testifies to a belief in the resurrection (Nimmukei Yosef to Alfasi, mk 17a). R. Judah ha-Nasi expressly ordered that he be buried in a simple linen shirt (mk 27b). Since talmudic times, it has been customary to bury a male in the tallit which he had used during his lifetime, after its fringes have been deliberately rendered ritually unfit. The victim of an unnatural death is buried in his blood-soaked garments over which the white shrouds are placed in order that all parts of the body should be interred (Naḥmanides, Torat ha-Adam; Inyan ha-hoẓa'ah).

Coffins were unknown to the early Israelites (as they are to contemporary Oriental Jewry). The corpse was laid horizontally and face upward on a bier (ii Sam. 3:31); the custom of burying important personages in coffins evolved only later. R. Judah ha-Nasi, however, ordered that holes be drilled in the base of his coffin so that his body might touch the soil (tj, Kil. 9:4, 32b) and Maimonides mentions the custom of burial in wooden coffins (Yad, Evel 4:4). In Ereẓ Israel, coffins are not usually used. In the Diaspora, it is still customary to spread earth from Ereẓ Israel on the head and face of the corpse, but the customs of placing ink and pen beside a deceased bridegroom (Sem. 8:7) and a key and book of accounts beside a childless man (ibid.) have been discontinued (Baḥ, yd 350). The older practice of food offerings to the dead (Deut. 26:14; Tob. 4:17; Ecclus. 30:18), of placing lamps in graves, and of burying the personal effects of princes and notables with the corpse (as was done for Gamaliel i by Onkelos (Av. Zar. 11a)), have completely disappeared. The more recent custom of placing flowers on the grave is discouraged by Orthodox rabbis because of *ḥukkat ha-goi. Before the funeral, the mourners tear their upper garment as a symbol of mourning (*Keri'ah).

The funeral service, now often conducted in the vernacular, varies according to the age of the deceased. A male child who died before he was seven days old is circumcised and given a Hebrew name at the cemetery (Haggahot Maimoniyyot, Milah 1:15). Only two men and one woman participate at the funeral of children who die before they reach the age of 30 days, although children who have learned to walk and thus are already known to many people are escorted as adults. In such and normal cases, the coffin is carried on the shoulders of the pallbearers into the cemetery prayer hall (ohel; Maim., Yad, Evel 4:2) where the *ẓidduk ha-din ("acknowledgment of the Divine judgment") beginning with the affirmation "The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are judgment" is recited. In some communities, this prayer is recited after the coffin has been lowered into the grave, and on those days on which the *Taḥanun is not said, Psalm 16 is substituted for ẓidduk ha-din. In the cemetery while the coffin is being borne to the grave, it is customary (except on those days when the Taḥanun is not recited) to halt at least three times and recite Psalm 91. In talmudic times, seven stops were made for lamentations (see Ket. 2:10; bb 6:7), symbolizing the seven times that the word hevel ("vanity") occurs in Ecclesiastes 1:2 (bb 100b); corresponding to the days of the creation of the world and also to the seven stages which man experiences during his lifetime (Eccles. R. 1:2). Some Sephardi rites have the custom of seven hakkafot ("circumambulations") at the grave.

When the coffin is lowered into the grave, those present say, "May he (or she) come to his (or her) place in peace"; they then fill in the grave. As they leave, they throw grass and earth behind them in the direction of the grave, while saying, "Remember (God) that we are of dust." Prior to leaving the cemetery they wash their hands (in Jerusalem, it is customary not to dry them afterward). In the ohel, Psalm 91 and the *Kaddish are recited by the mourners. The participants at the funeral then recite "May the Almighty comfort you among the other mourners for Zion and Jerusalem" as they stand in two rows between which the mourners pass. The precise order of the funeral varies from place to place and from community to community. Many of the customs among the Sephardi Jews are closer to those of talmudic times than Ashkenazi customs.

Reform Jewish Practice

Certain burial practices are unique to Reform Jews (mainly in the U.S.). Embalming and delay of burial for a day or two are permitted if necessary to wait for the arrival of relatives from a distant city (sometimes funerals are delayed even without this reason). Reform Jews are usually buried in ordinary clothes, without dirt in the coffin. Reform rabbis generally permit cremation, although it is still rare among Jews. Suicides are buried in their family plots.

Sephardi Practice

In the Sephardi communities in Ereẓ Israel, it is customary to carry the bier of a rabbi or scholar by hand, whereas for an ordinary person it is carried on the shoulders. When the men of the burial society leave the house they break an earthenware jar in front of it, symbolic of man as a "broken sherd" and in order to frighten away the evil spirits.

In Safed it was customary to immerse the corpse in the mikveh of R. Isaac Luria which is close by the cemetery whereas in Tiberias, Lake Kinneret was used for this purpose.

In most communities it is usual to walk in a ceremonial circle seven times around the bier reciting appropriate verses and in some, coins are thrown to the four directions and the verse "And to the children of Abraham's concubines he gave gifts" (Gen. 25:6) is recited. The "children of the concubines" are the evil spirits and the money is in order to satisfy them so that they should not make claims on the deceased.

It was also customary for old men to buy a grave and actually go into it, after which they would give a festive banquet.

In Egypt the funeral service usually was held in the synagogue. Occasionally the deceased's tefillin were buried with him and he was buried with his head toward Jerusalem. In Yemen, however, the body was buried with the feet toward Jerusalem so that when the dead will be revived he will stand and immediately bow toward the Holy City.

In Libya if a man died and left a wife in the early stages of pregnancy, those carrying the bier would lift it high when they left the house and the widow would pass under it in order to demonstrate that the deceased is the father and prevent malicious gossip later. Sons did not go near the bier and did not enter the cemetery but stayed at the entrance where they recited the Kaddish at the end of the burial service. The burial society supplied the mourners' meal and buried the remains of it in the ground so that mourning should not return to that family.

If the deceased was an old scholar a small meal was eaten before the bier was removed from the house. Participation in the meal was meant to ensure long life. At such a funeral no dirges or lamentations were recited. *Yigdal and *Adon Olam and a special piyyut in honor of Simeon b. Yoḥai were recited instead.

In Yemen the mourners followed the bier in black tallitot (prayer shawls) and the sons of the deceased uncovered their right arms and shoulders (cf. bk 17a). The participants walk around the bier seven times and a formal declaration releasing the deceased from all penalties that may have been put on him is made.

In Kurdistan the sons of the deceased do not follow the bier but remain in the courtyard of their house.

[Reuben Kashani]

bibliography:

De Vaux, Anc Isr, 56–61 (incl bibl. p. 523); Callaway, in: ba, 26 (1963), 74–91; Bender, in: jqr, 6 (1894), 317–47, 664–71; 7 (1895), 101–18, 259–69; J.J. (L.) Greenwald (Grunwald), Kol Bo al Avelut (1947); H. Rabinowicz, Guide to Life (1964); J.M. Tykocinski, Gesher ha-Ḥayyim (1944); S. Freehof, Current Reform Response (1969), index.

Burial

The first space burial took place on April 21, 1997, when the cremated remains (cremains, or ashes) of twenty-four people were launched into Earth orbit. The Houston-based company Celestis, Inc. performed this historic space memorial service. Approximately seven grams of ashes from each individual were placed into a lipstick-sized flight capsule. Each capsule was inscribed with the person's name and a personal message. The capsules were then placed in the memorial satellite—a small satellite about the size of a coffee can. The memorial satellite was launched into space aboard a commercial rocket and placed into Earth orbit.

Celestis has continued to launch a memorial satellite every year since 1997. Many families choose the space burial because their loved ones had wanted to travel in space in their lifetimes. Each successive satellite has included more individuals as news has spread of this unique space-age service.

As of this writing, Celestis is the only company in the world launching ashes into space. The high cost of getting goods into Earth orbit (thus the small amount of ashes actually launched) and the strict regulations and permits necessary to conduct this novel business have helped to limit competition. In addition, as the space memorial service itself is new and unusual, it requires increased public knowledge and acceptance for the industry to grow.

Factors that encourage the growth of space memorials include the rising numbers of cremations worldwide. According to the Cremation Association of North America, almost seven million cremations a year take place in industrialized nations, and that number is increasing. Canada experienced a 25 percent increase in cremations from 1996 to 2000, and the United States had a 24 percent increase in the same time period. Presently, 45 percent of all deaths in Canada, 26 percent of all deaths in the United States, and almost all deaths in Japan (99 percent) lead to cremation.

There are several reasons for the increase of cremations over burials. The 1995 Wirthlin Report, sponsored by the Funeral and Memorial Information Council, states that one-fourth of survey respondents would choose cremation because it is less expensive than a traditional burial. The next reason cited, by 17 percent of the respondents, was for environmental considerations—cremations use less land, which could be better used, for example, for agriculture to feed the world's population.

One might wonder about the space environment and all the memorial satellites in orbit—are they a type of orbital debris cluttering space? The memorial satellites do not remain in orbit forever. They are eventually drawn by gravity back to Earth, where they burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere.

see also Roddenberry, Gene (volume 1); Space Debris (volume 2).

Charles M. Chafer and Cynthia S. Price

Internet Resources

Celestis, Inc. <http://www.celestis.com>.

Cremation Association of North America. <http://www.csofna.com>; <http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu/hw/cremstats.html>.

burial metamorphism A term first used by D. S. Coombs in 1961 to describe metamorphic recrystallization during epeirogenic as opposed to orogenic earth movements. Sediments and volcanic rocks in a developing basin gradually become buried during sagging of the crust in response to the weight of the accumulating rock column above, so that temperatures, even at great depth, are much lower than those experienced during plate collision, when forcible depression of the rock mass to regions of much higher temperature and pressure cause metamorphic changes characteristic of regional metamorphism. See METAMORPHIC ROCK.

91. Burial Alive

1. Antigone condemned to be buried alive, she thwarts Creon’s order by killing herself. [Gk. Lit.: Antigone ]
2. Fortunato walled up in a catacomb by the man he had wronged. [Am. Lit.: Poe “The Cask of Amontillado”]
3. Lafourcade, Victorine found alive in her tomb by her rejected suitor. [Am. Lit.: Poe “The Premature Burial”]
4. Sindbad entombed, by custom, upon his wife’s death, he manages to escape. [Arab. Lit.: Arabian Nights ; Magill II, 50]
5. Usher, Madeline breaks out of vault in which she had been buried alive. [Am. Lit.: Poe “Fall of the House of Usher”]

63. Burial

See also 99. CORPSES ; 112. DEATH

cerement, cerements

the cloth or clothing in which the dead are wrapped for burial or other form of funeral.

columbarium

a vault where the remains of cremated bodies are kept, usually in one of a number of recesses in a wall.

exequy

1. a funeral procession or cortege.

2. funeral rites or ceremony.

hydriotaphia

a burial in an urn.

necropolis

a cemetery, especially one attached to an ancient city.

obsequies

a funeral or funeral ceremony. Sometimes obsequy .

sepelition

Obsolete, burial or interment.

sindology

the study of funeral shrouds.

taphephobia, taphiphobia, taphophobia

an abnormal fear of being buried alive.

taphophilia

a love for funerals.