Q&A: Secondary Burial Nowadays (Ossuary)
Secondary Burial Nowadays (Ossuary)
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
What is the Rabbi’s opinion about the idea of secondary burial nowadays? I understood from a few short articles I read that it is something accepted from the standpoint of Jewish law, and it was practiced in the Talmudic period and even earlier, but for some reason there is a lot of opposition to it nowadays. (It’s not so clear to me why…)
Would the Rabbi himself (with God’s help, after 120 years) want to be buried that way?
Thank you very much.
Answer
It doesn’t really interest me how they bury me. I don’t think there is any problem whatsoever with secondary burial, and the opposition is part of a pagan attitude toward burial and death.
The whole subject of burial and death is wrapped up in tons of taboos, and people are genuinely terrified of every bit of nonsense there. Every foolish custom, devoid of reason or context, becomes sacred. Just look at the paganism that appears at various funerals (especially in Jerusalem, where strange burial and funeral customs have multiplied enormously), with bizarre prohibitions and absurd segulot. That is also the reason that even secular people break down in situations of death and funerals, and most of them turn to the burial society.
Discussion on Answer
You’re pessimistic. The Ministry of Non-Education is so fossilized that even in another 357 years they’ll still keep children busy for 8 years with idiotic and worthless content about the wagtail, the squill, and family-root projects?
True, those three make an inestimable contribution to GDP. They provide eight years of babysitting and thereby enable the GDP.
I never would have thought that the three things that most affect GDP are the wagtail, the squill, and family-root projects. So who says the Ministry of Non-Education isn’t intelligent?!
About that it was said: to bring forth the precious from the worthless.
A way to save space without moving the deceased a second time is multi-level burial, as is practiced in Jerusalem.
Best regards, M.B.T.
You’re pessimistic. True, the Ministry of Education isn’t the most advanced in the world, but hey, there are so many crazy programs for promoting excellence (Idea, Alpha, Odyssey), involvement of Unit 8200 in math/cyber education, and more. Personally, I know one kid who, through programs like these, took off at university despite average matriculation grades. Honestly, for a small country in every sense, with so many challenges, the whole thing is doing pretty well. There’s always room for improvement. Besides, the wagtail is cute as hell, and there’s still a lot to explore in environmental science https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XdsTujWz4Y
An ossuary is an excellent idea for saving land, and also for family-root projects 357 years from now, when all the family members across the generations will be in one place. Basically, it’s a shelf per person.