{"id":227,"date":"2007-01-25T13:03:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-25T13:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/virtualtalmud\/2007\/01\/grave-matters.html"},"modified":"2007-01-25T13:03:00","modified_gmt":"2007-01-25T13:03:00","slug":"grave-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/virtualtalmud\/2007\/01\/grave-matters.html","title":{"rendered":"Grave Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am surprised and disturbed by the tone of Rabbi Grossman\u2019s post<\/a> stating her opposition to allowing non-Jews to be buried with their Jewish spouses in a Jewish cemetery. She writes: \u201cLet us… not undermine the final resting places of those who currently rest in peace.\u201d It almost appears that Rabbi Grossman believes that the souls of those buried in a Jewish cemetery will catch cooties from the presence of a non-Jew buried nearby.<\/p>\n

I understand Rabbi Grossman\u2019s concerns about the current levels of intermarriage, but I also think that threatening to separate a couple in death who have been together in life will just alienate both members of the couple and won\u2019t serve as a practical dis-incentive. There are many reasons people choose not to convert and this does not mean that they are working against the interests of the Jewish people or the Jewish community. On the contrary, they can often be active partners in raising Jewish families, supporting Jewish rituals and observances, and building Jewish community. If someone wishes to be buried in a Jewish cemetery I believe they are affirming their intent in death as in life to be fellow travelers: people who love and support the Jewish people and our communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am surprised and disturbed by the tone of Rabbi Grossman\u2019s post stating her opposition to allowing non-Jews to be buried with their Jewish spouses in a Jewish cemetery. She writes: \u201cLet us… not undermine the final resting places of those who currently rest in peace.\u201d It almost appears that Rabbi Grossman believes that the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGrave Matters - Virtual Talmud<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/virtualtalmud\/2007\/01\/grave-matters.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grave Matters - Virtual Talmud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am surprised and disturbed by the tone of Rabbi Grossman\u2019s post stating her opposition to allowing non-Jews to be buried with their Jewish spouses in a Jewish cemetery. 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