The Torah states, “Do not delay…you shall surely bury the deceased” (Deuteronomy 21:23). The anonymous 13th-century author of Sefer Hachinuch explains that there are actually two Torah requirements which can be deduced from this verse (Mitzvot 536-7). One is the positive commandment to bury a body as soon as possible and the other is the prohibition not to delay the burial.
The same view is shared by Nachmanides, who adds that in Israel there is an additional third prohibition incurred namely, “Do not defile the land with ritual impurity”.
Cryogenics does not adhere to these requirements since halachah determines that true burial must be in the ground (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 362). Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, the leading 20th-century American authority, spoke harshly against those who opt not to be interred appropriately in the ground but instead are laid to rest in a mausoleum (Igrot Moshe, Yoreh Deah 3:143-4).
In Israel, the common practice is to avoid coffins altogether — although this is not customary in the UK — or at least to drill some holes in coffins to ensure there is some direct contact with the earth (Tur, Yoreh Deah 362).
I have always been averse to museums which display unearthed mummified humans in glass showcases. The deceased deserve to be left undisturbed and in dignity.
There are three further points to consider. According to the kabbalistic teachings of the Zohar, we are taught that “during the week of shivah the soul is in a state of confusion. It is travelling back and forth from its house to its grave and from the grave to its house and mourns for its body. After seven days, the soul travels up to a different level of the heavens.” This process only happens when a person is buried.
Moreover, through decomposition of the body, the soul gains atonement and is in pain until then, an idea which is based on the verse in Job: “He feels only the pain of his own flesh, and he mourns only for his own soul” (14:22).
Furthermore, it is customary to bury the dead person in linen shrouds. Rabbi Avraham Eisentat, the author of Pitchei Teshuvah in the 19th century, quotes a midrash that a person should have shrouds made specifically from linen since for mystical reasons this is considered meritorious for the deceased (Yalkut Reuveini Mikketz).
None of these considerations is met through cryogenics. Additionally, Orthodox Judaism believes in the resurrection of the dead (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 and Talmud Brachot 15b), so being cryogenically frozen may be interpreted as denying that belief. Why take the law into your own hands when you may merit coming back anyway?
Rabbi Levy is director of inReach UK
