If a person chooses to be cremated, most Reform Jewish cemeteries today will allow their remains to be buried in Jewish cemeteries, although often they stipulate that the cremains must still be buried in a coffin. Jews may choose cremation for a variety of reasons, including cost and travel concerns.
After death when the body is buried in the ground it allows the body to return to earth. Reform Judaism is a progressive branch of Judaism that still favors burial, but does not oppose cremation. Over the years, an increasing number of Jews have chosen cremation over traditional burial.
Of all world religions, Islam is probably the most strongly opposed to cremation. Unlike Judaism and Christianity, there is little diversity of opinion about it. Cremation is considered by Islam to be an unclean practice.
One funeral director in Seattle, Ross Kling of the Rosebud Funeral Service, said that 3 percent to 5 percent of Jewish deaths in the city were cremations. But he estimated that at one particular Reform synagogue the rate was as high as 15 percent.
Judaism does not go against cremation, and according to one of the presidents of the Rabbinical Court, it was even a popular practice during the time of kings. Overseas, the choice of cremation is popular and accepted (even among Jews), and over the years the number of those choosing this matter of farewell increases.
Unlike our previous examples, Judaism traditionally doesn't allow cremation.
Many Jews believe that after a person dies, his or her soul doesn't simply vanish. A part of that soul remains with the body, stuck in a kind of limbo until burial. It's the job of the shomer, or shomeret if it's a woman, to comfort the deceased's soul.
Cremation and the Catholic Church
Catholics were to believe that man, created in the likeness of God, could not experience resurrection at the end of time unless their bodies were “intact.” Cremation was also banned to counter Roman pagan beliefs, which involved burning deceased bodies.
Traditionally a Jewish burial is supposed to take place within 24 hours of death. This is done in accordance with the Torah, sacred Jewish scripture, which says, "You shall bury him the same day.... His body should not remain all night." Today, outside of Orthodox communities, funerals rarely occur this quickly.
In fact, Hinduism is the only religion that mandates cremation, which is known as antim sanskar, or last rites. It is usually performed within 24 hours of death or as soon as possible, due to the fact that Hinduism also doesn't traditionally use embalming or other preservation tactics.
Muslims are always buried, never cremated. It is a religious requirement that the body be ritually washed and draped before burial, which should be as soon as possible after death. Those carrying out this duty should be immunised against hepatitis B and be aware of the hazards of AIDS.
No matter what a person's preference is, from the Christian perspective, cremation does not prevent one from going to Heaven. So there's no need to worry, if God can create life from dust, surely he can restore life from ashes.
Cremation does not “prevent God, in his omnipotence, from raising up the deceased body to new life,” the Vatican says, but it does raise the possibility that the deceased's body, which the church believes is sacred, will not be properly respected by ancestors and relatives.
In other cultures, viewing the body may be important–to give a sense of closure to mourners. In Jewish culture, public viewing of the dead person is too one-sided and seems like a violation of the dead person's modesty: we can look at the body but the person can't look back.
The more well known and more commonly cited explanation is that the washing is due to the “impure spirits” that are found in a cemetery and that remain with a person until he washes his hands. Some also wash their face after leaving a cemetery and some even make an effort to immerse in a mikva.
In Judaism, respecting the dead is one of the most sacred things you can do for someone who has passed. Jewish burial grounds also need to be sacred places. That is why Jewish communities often have designated Jewish cemeteries nearby.
HAVING RELATIONSHIPS WITH SPOUSES, LOVED ONES IN HEAVEN
A. Yes to both. The reunion will take place, but not as husband and wife. We learn this in Jesus' explanation to the Sadducees: "When people rise from death, there will be no marriage.
It reminds to Catholics inter cremated remains in cemeteries or other sacred places and that remains "should not be scattered in the air, on land, or at sea." The Vatican also decreed that ashes should not be divided, kept at home, or transformed (e.g., keepsake jewelry).
As a Catholic, may I be cremated? Yes. In May 1963, the Vatican's Holy Office (now the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith) lifted the prohibition forbidding Catholics to choose cremation.
After the Burial
After the death of a family member, members of the Jewish faith engage in a custom called “sitting Shiva.” This involves a seven-day period where mourners stay inside, usually sitting on boxes or low stools, as a sign of loss or mourning.
It is also believed, as set forth in midrashic tradition, that the human soul remains with, but unattached to, the body for a period of three to seven days after death.
murder. rape committed against a betrothed woman. striking, cursing, or otherwise rebelling against parental authority. Sabbath-breaking.
Hinduism. Hinduism actually mandates cremation, called antim sanskar, or last rite, for the disposition of a believer's earthly remains. In cremation, Hindus believe, the body is presented as an offering to Agni, the Hindu god of fire, accompanied by a prayer to purify the deceased and lead them to a better life.
What's really returned to you is the person's skeleton. Once you burn off all the water, soft tissue, organs, skin, hair, cremation container/casket, etc., what you're left with is bone. When complete, the bones are allowed to cool to a temperature that they can be handled and are placed into a processing machine.
“Our people have a certain faith. And the Church has a duty to safeguard it and assure that we'll still hold burials. If someone wants to be cremated, that's their prerogative.