Q&A: Returning a Body
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Returning a Body
Question
Hello Rabbi Michael Abraham.
I saw in various places on the site that you oppose bringing back the bodies of Jewish dead at the cost of risking the lives of IDF soldiers. Could you explain the reasoning behind this position and elaborate a bit more?
Thank you very much.
Answer
The opposition is self-evident. Why on earth should soldiers’ lives be put at risk in order to bring a body to burial?! The burden of justification is on whoever does not oppose it. Considerations do arise here of soldiers’ morale, policy (future demands), and so on, but it is clear that as a matter of basic Jewish law there is absolutely no place for this whatsoever.