Pittsburgh – An Allegheny County judge must decide whether Jewish religious law can overrule a family’s request to exhume the remains of a family member so they can be moved to an historic Pittsburgh cemetery.
Judge Lawrence O’Toole heard arguments Monday from the family of Howard Tobin, who died 45 years ago, and a lawyer for Poale Zedeck Congregation, the Orthodox cemetery where Tobin is buried in Richland Township, Allegheny County.
Tobin’s family wants his remains moved to Homewood Cemetery, near those of his wife and son, but the rabbi at Poale Zedeck said such a request is not permissible.
“In Jewish law, we have a responsibility to protect the integrity of our cemetery and those people buried there,” said Rabbi Ari Goldberg. “And Jewish law indicates that there are a very limited number of sites where we do allow the disinterment of a body after it has been laid to rest. We consider the respect of the person buried there to be paramount.”
When Tobin’s son died in 2007, Tobin’s widow wanted him to be buried next to his father. Plots next to Howard Tobin in Richland were not available then, so the family buried the son in Homewood Cemetery.
Before Howard Tobin’s widow died late last year, she urged her surviving children to have Howard’s remains exhumed and placed where they could all be together in death.
Poale Zedeck Congregation’s attorney said Pennsylvania law has allowed religious cemeteries to follow their own rules without court interference.
O’Toole didn’t say when he’d make a ruling.
(Source: Pittsburg Channel)
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11 Responses
The quote is slightly incorrect, what Rabbi Goldberg said was “there are a very limited number of SITUATIONS where we do allow the disinterment of a body after it has been laid to rest”.
PS: If you go to the link for the Pittsburgh Channel you can vote on whether the family or the congregation should prevail.
“Before Howard Tobin’s widow died late last year, she urged her surviving children to have Howard’s remains exhumed and placed where they could all be together in death.”
UH, they ARE all together…
Are they insane?
Such imbroglios could probably be avoided with an alteration to the contract used when buying the plot. Simply put in a non-exhumation clause.
Please go on and vote – http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/23280581/detail.html
I’m sure if the mother could speak to them right now she would tell them that she didn’t know what she was talking about! It doesn’t matter where they’re buried- they are together in Shamayim! We should disturb this poor man’s peace so the same worms can get to his body and his wife’s? Please excuse the graphic nature of that statement, but seriously, I really feel they should not dig up his body 5 decades later! It’s just wrong!
Wow, back-to-back stories for PZ.
#5 Cantoresq;
Smart.
I find myself agreeing.
If this corpse is exhumed and moved elsewhere it will be against all the precedents set in EY.
On the other hand, a couple of thousand dollars donated to the right gamach . . .
Was the widow Jewish? Is the 2nd cemetery a Jewish cemetery?
Soemeone has to explain to me how this differs from the burial of many tsaddikkim when they took their remains from europe to israel. clearly, there are many situations where exhumation and re-burial would be allowed. why not in this case?