Cremation or Burial? A Jewish View

Throughout history, societies have adopted varying approaches to dealing with corpses. Some have buried them in the ground and some have cremated them. Others sealed them away in elaborate mausoleums with food and drink, mummified them, left them for the vultures, cannibalized them and done the unthinkable to the bodies of their loved ones. Presumably, most people simply followed their neighbors’ example in deciding what method to choose.

Since the very beginning of the Jewish people thousands of years ago, although many options were available, Jews have always insisted on burial.

Today, mirroring the developments in Western society, at least 30 percent of Jewish deaths in North America and Europe are followed by cremations, and the percentage is on the rise.

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Keywords: Death, Funeral, Grave, Coffin, Crematoria, Cremation Burial, Cremation, Cremate, Burial vs creation, Burial cremation, Buried cremated, Cremated, Burning, Burning the body, Body burning, Burning bodies, Ritual burning, Burial, Burial rituals, Ashes, Ashes to ashes, Dust to dust, Cemetery, Urn, Ashes urn

Bible reference(s): Deuteronomy 21:23, Numbers 11:1-3, Numbers 16:35, Leviticus 20:14, Leviticus 21:9, Josh 7:15, Joshua 7:25-26, 1 Samuel 31:11-13, 2 Samuel 21:14, 1 Kings 13:2, 2 Kings 1:10-12, 1 Chronicles 10:12, Jeremiah 7:31, Amos 2:1, John 19:40, 1 Corinthians 13:3

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