Question
A Jews who was not a member of any Jewish community has been buried in a non-Jewish cemetary. His stepson wants his Stepfather to be buried in the Jewish cemetray.
However the Stepson has no money and the question is: Is a Jewish community obliged to pay for these high expenses?
Could you point me to some tshuvot that discuss the problem of non-members vis a vis a community.
Answer
I was unable to locate Teshuvot on the question of community but believe (I've discussed it with several Rabbanim as well) that the community has no responsibility in this case. Rav Moshe Feinstein rules that there is a Mitzvah to move a body from a non Jewish to a Jewish cemetary, but thie is not a category of "Met mitzvah" (a coprpse lying unburied) which would obligate anyone who came in contact with the deceased. Here the issue is of honoring the deceased, and that is a monetary obligation only on the family.
