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Tilling The Garden
ELIZABETH KAPLAN
Rabbi Daniel Polish is lifting Beth El
above the year of fractious controversy.
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Burial in Jerusalem: A grim picture about to change?
All Israelis Deserve The Right
To Be Buried As They See Fit
RABBI ERIC H. YOFFIE
I
sraelis cannot escape the grasp of their
country's rabbinical establishment,
even in death.
Item: A young Israeli traveling in
Europe received the tragic news of his
father's death in Jerusalem. He rushed
home, arriving just before the burial.
713 his surprise and distress, he was not
permitted by members of the chevra
kadisha to attend the funeral. Their deci-
sion was based on an obscure mystical
custom, probably derived from a medieval
superstition, which forbids sons to attend
the funerals of their fathers when they take
place in Jerusalem.
Item: In early 1987, the chief rabbi of
Migdal Ha'emek issued a ruling that
women could not attend funerals in his
town. The ruling was made in response to
a large number of deaths in the area. Rab-
bi Yitzhak David Grossman explained that
"the public demanded that we do
something about all these disasters, and
since it is written in' the Zohar that
women's attendance at funerals can cause
disasters, we decided this was the best
course of action?'
Item: After the death of his father,
Efraim Mittleman was not permitted by
the chevra kadisha in Herzilya to erect a
monument at the gravesite. Mittleman had
insisted on following his father's wishes
and using Arabic numerals to write the
date of birth and of death on the stone. He
was informed that such a practice was con-
trary to Jewish law, and that the date must
be written in the traditional fashion, using
Hebrew letters.
Nowhere in the laws of the Jewish state
are Orthodox authorities granted exclusive
control over Jewish burials. However,
burial societies must be licensed by the
Ministry of Religious Affairs, which is
Orthodox-controlled, and the ministry has
never licensed any organization other than
an Orthodox chevra kadisha.
As a result, it is not possible to be
buried in Israel today under non-Orthodox
auspices. Exceptions are made only for
Israel's kibbutzim.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie is the director of ARZA, the
Association of Reform Zionists of America.
The Orthodox monopoly over burial has
led to massive abuses.
Mourners are given no say over the
funeral liturgy, which is normally con-
ducted by a functionary of the burial socie-
ty according to standard Orthodox practice.
The addition of readings or prayers which
may have special meaning to the family is
not permitted.
The only area of flexibility is in deliver-
ing the eulogy; a friend or a rabbi known
to the family may be selected for this honor,
although even this courtesy is sometimes
withdrawn if the rabbi chosen is Reform or
Conservative.
Most disturbing to Israelis is the fact
that Orthodox authorities do not permit
burial in a coffin. Bodies are buried in a
shroud, a practice which is often emotional-
ly burdensome and aesthetically displeas-
ing to the mourners.
Israeli Reform scholars have
demonstrated that there is ample prece-
dent in Jewish law for the use of coffins in
Israel; indeed, the Israeli rabbinate has
made a major exception to its own rules by
allowing the army to use coffins for the
funerals of soldiers, even when death comes
from natural causes.
Nonetheless, average Israelis continue
to be denied coffins, no matter how urgent
the family's request.
This grim picture may be about to
change. The Israel Religious Action Center
(IRAC), sponsored by the Association of
Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), has
joined together with other groups to wrest
control of burial from Orthodox hands.
For the first time in more than 40 years,
there is a chance that Israelis may win the
fundamental right to bury their dead as
they see fit, free from government in-
terference and the dictates of the rabbinical
establishment.
Earlier this year, on the recommenda-
tion of IRAC, the Israel Movement for Pro-
gressive Judaism formally affiliated with
the non-profit association Menucha
Nechona, proper rest.
The Israeli Association of Secular
Humanists has also affiliated with the
organization as have a large number of in-
dividuals, including many physicians from
Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.
Menucha Nechona was created to pro-
Continued on Page 10
SPORTS
48
Smart Sabre
MIKE ROSENBAUM
Detroiter Mike Hartman plays a strong
game for Buffalo's hockey team.
LOOKING BACK
57
A Night Burned
In History
ANDREA JOLLES
A fateful rampage known as Kristallnacht
loosed the Holocaust 50 years ago.
ENTERTAINMENT
69
Deal Him In
MIKE ROSENBAUM
When it's time for charity,
Monty Hall is not behind the door.
AROUND TOWN
93
`Super' Book Fair
KAREN A. KATZ
Jewish Book Fair and Superman? Clark Kent
and more awaits Detroit's 37th showing.
PEOPLE
97
St. Urbain's Horseman
DAVID HOLZEL
At the core of novelist Mordecai Richler
is the kid from Montreal's Jewish ghetto.
LIFESTYLES
106
Communal
Volunteer
CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ
Tzvi Burstyn
got involved,
and the Orthodox
community
has benefited.
DEPARTMENTS
14
31
32
34
62
90
98
103
116
146
Frontlines
Community
Inside Washington
Synagogues
Travel
Ann Arbor
Youth
For Women
Single Life
Obituaries
CANDLELIGHTING
November 4, 1988 5:05 p.m.
Sabbath ends Nov. 5: 6:09 p.m.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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