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Why isn’t chutz la’aretz makpid to follow the halacha to bury a meis the same day as the petira, even if it necessitates a night burial? In chutz they sometimes even push off the levaya/kevura to the next day when the petira wasn’t even so late in the day, unlike in Eretz Yisroel where they’re very makpid to do it right away (and they won’t even delay it for overseas immediate family to travel to Eretz Yisroel).
Absent the urgency imposed by the kedusha of Eretz Yisroel and Yerushalayim, in particular, kavod ha meis includes allowing – within limits, of course – relatives and others living far away time to arrive and participate in the levaya.
Joseph, in NY union gravediggers don’t work after five pm and cemeteries, while they are open longer for visitation, closest for burials after five.
Rabbanim in the US have for decades permitted delays to allow children to travel home for burials. If you think that they are mistaken, it’s incumbent upon to bring proofs and sourcesA typo. Joseph it’s incumbentupon you to bring proofs
Joseph: the concept of kovod hameis is very broad. I know if a levaya that was delayed due to the older brother of the miftar traveling to NY for the levaya. The family rov paskened to wait as it was a kovod for the miftar that his older brother be there.
There are Halachos about when to observe the first yahrtzeit if the kevura was 3 or more days after the petira.In addition, there are issues when dealing with society plots and not family plots. One needs the paperwork from the society and then the Funeral Director had to make sure that the kever is still available.i was present in s funeral home when the director Calle about a kever and was told that someone was already interred there. It took hours until it was resolved.
Joseph, it’s not all of Eretz Yisrael that is makpid on burying the same day, it’s only Yerushalayim. They sometimes delay for the kavod of the mes, so that more people can attend the funeral.
There are logistical reasons why a burial may not be able to take place the same day that are out of control of the family/funeral director.
In some place the Funeral Director needs an official Death Certificate before the interment can occur. Local city and town halls don’t issue them after 4 or 4:30PM.
As was mentioned already there may be a delay from the society in approving the burial and notifying the cemetery that it is ok to bury the mais.
The deceased may owe money to the synagogue who owns the cemetery and they won’t allow an interment until the bill is paid in full.Here, OOT, there is generally only one Jewish Funeral home in each city. Sometimes they have more funerals than they can handle in a day and try to push them off.
There are synagogues where the rabbi’s contract says that only he may officiate at a burial in the synagogue’s cemetery. If he is not available the burial can also be delayed.
Lastly, and often the most important factor is weather. My mother A”H died at about 2 AM in a nursing facility. It was blizzard like weather. The funeral home could not retrieve her body until 4PM due to road conditions. The cemetery roads were not plowed until 2 PM the next day so the interment was 3:30 that afternoon.
Another reason for a delay here in Chutz L’aretz. Someone is niftar late in the afternoon on Wednesday Erev Rosh Hashanah. Kevura can’t take place until Sunday.
lowerourtuition11210- that can happen in Eretz Yisroel as well. Rosh Hashana is two days yom tov regardless of where you live.
True but I don’t know what is considered “late” in EY. here in NYC anything after 12:00 PM is probably “late”.
Some chassidim will do night burials even in chutz la’aretz
adocs: Here in the NY City / Long Island area it depends on the cemetery. Other counties have different rules.
Cemeteries here are controlled by the unions.
Joseph: It’s B’feirush in Gemara and Shulchan Aruch that if it adds Kavod for the Meis (e.g. so relatives/important people can attend the funeral) then you can (and should) push off the burial.
There is a separate Minhag in Yerushalayim to never leave a Meis overnight. This Minhag is kept with almost zero exceptions (they’ve made them for Gedolim so that the city and police can prepare for the hundreds of thousands can attend, and they sometimes make it in cases of murder so that the police can do what’s necessary to discover the murder; that’s about it).
@bored
Where’s here?
I live in Connecticut and the Jewish cemeteries are not controlled by unions.
We have a family cemeteries on my Paternal side in both Queens and Suffolk counties that have union workers.
Decades ago when the cemetery workers were on strike in NYC, my cousins and I dug a grave in Mt Hebron Cemetery (Flushing) so a relative could be buried without being held in a morgue until the strike was over.Does shiva start on the day that the person is niftar or the burial day?
LB: This depends on where the burial takes place. Usually if the burial is in the same locale then the day of burial if they are able to actually “sit shiva” before shkia. If they do not sit before shkia then it starts the next day. However, as happened with Rabbi Meir Zlotowiz A’H, the levaya in the US was on Sunday and the kevura was on Monday in EY. Shiva started on Sunday since not all the aveilim went to EY..
Shiva normally starts after burial. A wrinkle comes in when the body is sent to Israel. My friend could not accompany his brother to Israel as the plane left on Sunday and his passport was in the bank vault. His rav told him to begin sitting Shiva on Sunday after the body went on the plane
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