Some things are easy to talk about, like where we learn in Genesis chapter 23 verse one, the fact Sarah lives until 127 years of age. Toward the end of the parasha in Genesis 25 verse 7 we learn that Abraham lives to be 175 years. The rabbis wonder how this can be, why Abraham should merit to live that much longer that Sarah who was younger than him to begin with. The rabbis figure it out - Sarah was born knowing G-d but Abraham did not come to this understanding until he was 48 years of age. Therefore Abraham really starting living at age 48. 48 + 127 = 175. Thus Sarah and Abraham lived the same amount of years.

 

Numbers are straight forward. You can add them, subtract them, slice and dice them and they stay true to their value.

 

 

What I want to talk with you about this evening comes from verse two from Chayei Sarah, and it is not quite so simple. "Sarah died in Kiriat -arba." The questions I want to raise with you concern what happens next around the burial plan that Abraham left for us so many years ago, and how that plan is both part of our lives as American Jews, and not so much a part of our lives as American Jews.

 

The theme of afterlife for Sarah is part of the parasha and it is seasonal as well. Not only is this the Halloween season where decorations of plastic skeletons, skulls and tombstones saying 'rest in peace' dominate front yards and stores, but it just so turns out that due to a little lice infestation at Del Dayo School, we at CBS decided to bag up all our kippot to protect our members from this problem.

 

Yesterday morning, we had no kippot for Shabbat. What's a rabbi to do? I called our friend David Warshowsky at Lombard's funeral home who happened to have a dozen never been worn kippot on hand - and he delivers!

 

 

So the combination of Halloween, kippot from Lombard and the parasha Chayei Sarah, brings us to the important and yes challenging topic of Abraham's leadership to take care of Sarah once she passed. I imagine that we have a number of strong opinions about the most appropriate way to care for our loved ones after they pass, and not everyone is on the same page. But I have come to learn that a rabbi's job is not only to comfort, but to help us all think more deeply and struggle with our core beliefs. So here goes.

 

We are told that when Sarah died Abraham took responsibility in purchasing a burial plot for her. While the Hitties who lived in Hebron respected Abraham greatly and were willing to give him the land, Abraham refused the offer, insisting on purchasing the land at full price, some suggest, paying above full price in order to make a lasting, respectful grave, in Hebrew, kever, for Sarah and for future members of his family.

 

 

As some may have read in the weekly "From the Rabbis", Rabbi David and I visited the kever, in Hebron, to pay homage to the graves of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecaa, Jacob, and Leah. Their burial ground exists to this day, because of Abraham and because he purchased land and buried them. The comfort of knowing where they are buried, the comfort in knowing where our loved ones are buried goes beyond words.

 

It is from this portion, Hayei Sarah that we are given the directions of how a Jew takes care of their dead. Upon the death of a loved one, we are told that Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her. We are told that immediately he purchased a burial plot for her - and that this land, the cave of Machpelah moved from the Hittites to Abraham, as burial site for the future. A midrash says: Let no on claim that the land was stolen." Thus the transaction is recorded fair and square.

 

 

The Torah does not speak of cremation and a scattering of her ashes. The Torah does not speak of cremation and taking ashes and transforming them into jewelry pendants . In fact, traditionally Jews have not taken cremation as their practice for a number of reasons. A primary reason has to do with respect of the body which carried the soul of the loved one. From the teaching of Ezekiel there exists the possibility of literal me'chayei ha-metim, the resurrection of the dead upon the coming of the Messiah. For that reason, there are religious Jews who serve in Israel with the explicit job description of showing up at any explosion and gathering all parts of the individual, so that all of it can be buried respectfully together. Jewish tradition considers it imperative to maintain the sanctity of a dead body. It is out of respect for the dead, kibud hamet, as well as me'chayei ha-meytim, the return of life to the dead.

 

Still another reason Jews traditionally show respect for their deceased through burial is that the horrendous nazi crematoriums - where millions of our people - children, women and men were turned into ashes. The 1940s are part of our collective memory and to distance ourselves from the horror, we turn to the respectful and simple rituals of a Jewish burial.

 

Having said that, David Warshowsky of Lombard tells us that the number of Jews choosing cremation steadily increases. Primarily it has to do with cost and the perception that taharah, the Jewish practice of washing the body and shroud, burial is a plain pine casket and returning to the ground is too much of an expense to incur. In actuality, there is no Jewish person that cannot have a Jewish burial. There are funds to assist and if need be, cover the entire cost.

 

While some will disagree strongly, which is truly fine, cremation can be seen as part of our assimilation into a non-Jewish American culture. Cremation is a practice used widely among non-Jews, and returning to a Rosh Hashana sermon, when we identify first and foremost with the culture of our host country and not our Jewish soul, then cremation and scattering look like a noble option.

 

 

 

However, if "I'm not white, I'm Jewish" then Abraham leads the way. He guides us to taking charge of our loss by purchasing land in a business like manner and creating a place where we can visit, to sit quietly and know that we are part of a powerful Jewish chain of tradition.

 

Look, we are Jews affiliated with the Reform movement, and we don't automatically abide by traditional law, but we also are Jews affiliated with the Reform movement who are obligated to confront the tradition, study it, understand it and then make our very best decisions.

 

It is incumbent upon us then, to look at these challenging issues, and as long as Halloween is that time when some say the veil between this world and the spirit world is as thin as it gets, this seems like as good a time as any to examine what we believe at our core.

 

 

The name Halloween itself prompts us to this, as it refers to All Hallows Eve, with the word hallows referring to that which we hallow, or make holy. What is our holiest course of action with regard to honoring those who are making the return passage from the body to the world of spirit?

 

Many of our mourning customs are actually in support of the spirit, which in some cases wants to cling to this world, and it takes time for it to let go of its attachment to the bodily form and move on. Do we think that cremation cuts that process short and might be damaging to the soul, or do we think the body is just a casing and like an empty shell can be transformed to ash if we wish.

 

Our Saturday morning prayerbook reminds us that our Jewish intelligence comes from the ability to ask good questions. So that is all I am inviting you to do, is to ask yourself questions about the practices of Abraham and what our most profound beliefs are about concerning the nature of body and soul.

amen.