Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Vayechi
Embalming is the filling of parts of a dead body
with (aromatic) substances to prevent decay &
putrefaction. Egyptians, experts at this ancient
art, believed an embalmed body insured a pleasant
after-life. Some poskim hold that embalming is
allowed in certain circumstances, such as for a
delayed burial like Yakov’s, due to honoring the
dead (kavod ha-met).Others allow it only if no
cuts are made in the body, while others prohibit
any type of embalming whatsoever & this is the
normative Halacha today, because the decay of
the body is a necessary element in the granting
of kapara, atonement. In fact, if the deceased
left orders to be embalmed after his death, we
disregard those instructions. As for Yakov &
Yosef, both of whom were embalmed, some say Yakov
asked to be embalmed; others say Yosef erred by
allowing/ordering Yakov to be embalmed; still
others say that, as VIP’s in Egypt, the ruling
authorities would have insisted that these great
men, like the Pharaohs, should also be embalmed.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
