Q&A: Moving a Corpse on the Sabbath
Moving a Corpse on the Sabbath
Question
The medieval authorities discuss whether it is permitted to move it by means of a loaf of bread or a child, and whether this is only when it has already begun to smell, or even beforehand.
My question is: according to Maimonides’ view (as the Beit Yosef understands him), that even once it has already begun to smell he still requires a loaf or a child, why not treat it as a chamber pot?
Maimonides writes explicitly there, at the end of chapter 26, that it is forbidden to move it, and if there is another place to go, they must leave the room. But why? With a chamber pot we say the opposite.
Thank you very much, Rabbi.
Answer
I think a chamber pot is something that we just do not want to remain in the house, and it makes no difference to us where it does go. But a corpse is removed from the house also out of respect for the dead person, and not only because we need the space. In short, a corpse is not excrement. (Remember that the case there is King David, whose body certainly was not in the category of excrement.) Beyond that, the excrement is placed inside the chamber pot, so that is indirect moving, whereas the corpse itself is being moved.
Discussion on Answer
Even if he is removed for the honor of the living, the attitude toward the dead person is still not like the attitude toward excrement. After all, we have an obligation toward him as well (honor for the dead). So in my opinion, according to everyone, the removal is also done for his sake, or at least the manner of removal has to be respectful because of the dead person.
And regarding the mouse, it is possible that removing it by the tail is considered an unusual manner, and with regard to indirect moving, the later authorities discussed whether that falls under the category of an unusual manner.
Thank you very much, Rabbi.
Thank you very much, Rabbi.
As for the second claim, that is not precise, because it seems to be proven in tractate Beitzah that when a dead mouse was found in Rav Ashi’s storeroom, he instructed them to remove it by its tail.
As for the first claim, Maimonides does not hold that way. Rather, the dead person is removed from the house for the honor of the living, not for the honor of the deceased. That is what emerges from the Beit Yosef’s explanation of the dispute between Maimonides and the other medieval authorities regarding why the dead person is taken outside.