A Jewish woman passed away in rural Arizona. Her body was only found several days after passing.
A relative in Colorado contacted me in Boise.
I reached out to another relative in Idaho.
I found out that the body was scheduled for cremation in a matter of hours. This is a huge no-no in Judaism.
Unfortunately, the deceased had no funds and no local family members at all.
With the clock ticking, I immediately reached out to relatives to stop the cremation, or at least pause it. I was told there are no funds for burial. “Put aside money,” I declared. “We will figure that out. For now, we need to stop the funeral home from cremating the body and then we can figure out the rest.”
Reluctantly, the relatives agreed.
Now, there was a mountain of paperwork and red tape.
I contacted the nearest Chabad Rabbi in Arizona. He put me in touch with an organization in Phoenix that could help.
Over the next 5 days, despite me being on the road, we worked tirelessly to overcome obstacles, release the body, buy a plot, make funeral arrangements, and hold a funeral.
To make a long story short-
The cremation was stopped, the body was transferred to California, a tahara was performed, a friend of mine who is Chabad Rabbi in California officiated the funeral, and the deceased was brought to Jewish burial in a dignified manner. In fact, she was buried near her own parents.
How and why did this all happen?
Technically, this happened because a Chabad Rabbi heard that a Jewish woman was about to be cremated. Because Rabbis and community leaders in five different cities moved heaven and earth. And, because Jews who never met this lady mobilized to raise over $10,000 to give her the dignity she deserved. (There are still some uncovered costs – you can donate to this holy cause here - select Chabad’s Funeral Fund).
But really, it happened because a Jewish soul is eternal. It is a piece of Infinity.
We might wonder what is the value of a grave. Was it really worth all the effort and expense? After all, the body will decompose anyway.
Some may argue that she didn’t really live much of a Jewish life anyway. She wouldn’t have cared. She didn’t have the funds. Why should this be a burden on the community?
In this week’s parsha Ki Teitzei, we read about the importance of Jewish burial and how quickly it should be done. The Torah states, “But you shall not leave his body on the pole overnight. Rather, you shall bury him on that [same] day, for a hanging [human corpse] is a blasphemy of G-d, and you shall not defile your land, which the L-rd, your G-d, is giving you as an inheritance.”
The Torah is speaking of a person who was executed by the Court. Even such a person, G-d insists, should be given the honor of proper and immediate burial.
The Zohar explains that each soul is part of a cosmic celestial body of souls. Since all souls are a piece of G-d, it follows that G-d’s “Celestial Body” is comprised of all souls. The Zohar adds that as long as the body is not buried, the soul suffers and the spirit of defilement is there to dwell upon that body and defile it.
Until a person is buried, the soul is struggling in no-man’s land – unable to reach its spiritual and eternal resting place.
Therefore, even the criminal’s soul is a critical component of G-d. Without the soul reaching its place of rest, G-d is suffering, as it were.
I may not have ever met this lady. She may not have cared much for her Jewish roots. But, she is a part of my soul, of every Jew’s soul, and of G-d’s soul.
I feel humbled and grateful that we were able to give her the dignity that she, we, and G-d deserve.