Q&A: Cremation of a Body
Cremation of a Body
Question
Hello Rabbi,
As part of my learning, a question came up for me regarding the prohibition against cremating a body in Judaism. I found the following reference to cremation in an old thread on Hyde Park Corner:
"
Surprisingly, there is a passage in tractate Sanhedrin that implies that burial is not the main thing; rather, what matters is caring for the dead and preventing them from coming to disgrace. Burial is only a practical means of doing this in order to ensure it.
I need to look up the source. If someone beats me to it, all the better.
He who guards his mouth and his tongue
Guards his soul from troubles
"
Unfortunately, there was no further detail there on the subject.
Maybe the Rabbi can shed some light on this for me?
*I’m a woman, and my learning skills were not properly developed and so on, so I’d appreciate an answer that doesn’t include Aramaic, if possible 🙈
Thank you!
Answer
I’m not familiar with that. Practically speaking, I don’t think there is anyone who permits cremation of a body. And even if burial is only a practical means to prevent desecration of the dead, cremation would also be considered a disgrace to the deceased.