Chapter 14 | Burial and Sustainability

Introduction

Each year over 50,000 people, the overwhelming majority Jewish, pass away and are buried in Israel, where according to the traditional burial rites (‘Field Burial’) one can bury around 300 people in a dunam of land ¹. The meaning of this is that many plots of land, even in densely populated areas, are being taken up by cemeteries. In addition, the graves and the infrastructure required for them demands large amounts of concrete, whose manufacturing is a core cause of greenhouse gas emissions ². Our sages were aware of the issue of space that a multitude of graves presents, and instructed that cemeteries not be labelled as impure sites (of which kohanim cannot enter) at a significant distance from the graves themselves, “so as not to detract from the Land of Israel” ³, however this space issue continues to grow.

The Halachic Discussion

Saturated Burial

An initial solution, implemented by Israel broadly, is ‘saturated burial’ in layers or in alcoves. These methods allow burial of up to 2,500 people in a dunam ⁴. The authorities discuss whether for this burial method the halachic obligation to bury the deceased in the ground is fulfilled, as it involves a barrier between the deceased and the earth or the dead being buried using dirt brought from elsewhere artificially. On this background, the Chief Rabbinic Council drafted burial guidelines which integrate building layers of dirt connected to local earth, and according to the majority of authorities this burial method is halachically permissible, of course in situations when there is a need ⁵. Therefore, the planning institutions must encourage and motivate the burial authorities to fulfill the halachot of burial and the obligation to preserve the environment in their totality, through various methods of saturated burial.

However, even if this is performed, it is not enough to provide a long-term response to both the issue of space and the issue of concrete consumption. Based on this, there are two methods that can limit the ecological damage: ‘kvurat eretz yisrael’ and ‘ecological burial’.

Kvurat Eretz Yisrael: Collection of the Bones

One of the methods of traditional burial in the times of the Mishnah was temporary burial in the earth for a year, afterwards collecting the bones into a jug placed in a familial mausoleum ⁶. In this manner, where the bones are kept in thin jugs standing next to each other in inlets, the area required for burial will significantly decrease ⁷. Rabbi Rafi Ostroff, the Head of the Religious Council in Gush Etzion, demonstrated in an essay in the journal ‘Techumin’ that there is no halachic obstacle to return to this burial method these days, and his words merited consensus from the halachic greats of the generation, including Rabbi Yaakov Ruza, Rabbi Dov Lior ⁸, Rabbi Aryeh Stern⁹, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi Amichai¹⁰, and Rabbi Yuval Cherlow¹¹ .Even though at first glance there is deviation from the currently accepted burial customs, since we are dealing with a revitalization of an ancient custom, and an extraordinary need for an alternative exists, one should encourage and promote the reinvigoration of this burial method¹².

Ecological Burial

An additional method of burial is the process where the dead is wrapped in biodegradable material and a tree is planted on the burial site, so the burial site becomes a park.

This method is becoming increasingly common in non-Jewish communities abroad, however it does not qualify according to halachic requirements. In the Mishnah (Ohalot 18:3), it is stated that one should not plant trees in a field where a limb was buried, and according to the majority of authorities, the meaning of the matter is the prohibition to plant any type of tree in a location where there is concern for a grave¹³ . Regarding the reason for this, there are those who write that the concern is that perhaps the tree’s fruits will become impure due to the deceased ¹⁴[305], there are those who write that the sages did not want to encourage people to walk through the area and become impure ¹⁵ and there are those who write that the prohibition is that the tree’s roots will harm the body and that this will be disgraceful to the dead ¹⁶.

Aside from this, there is a genuine concern that perhaps kohanim will walk under the trees and become impure. Additionally, many authorities write that planting a tree on top of a grave is against Jewish custom ¹⁷. Therefore, it seems that one should abstain from this method of burial.

In Practice:

1. At the individual level: it is appropriate to choose the best possible burial method for the environment, amongst the existing, permissible options.
2. On the communal level: one should encourage and advocate for using saturated burial (with layers and alcoves) over field burial. It is proper to begin the process of returning to kvurat eretz Yisrael’ where the bones are collected into a jug.
3. One should not use the method of ‘ecological burial’ including planting a tree on the grave.

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