Respect for the Departed is Respect for Life
And Hashem said to Moshe: Speak unto the priests the sons of Aharon, and say to them: None shall defile himself for the dead among his people; (Sefer VaYikra 21:1)
- The kohen’s unique status
A kohen is distinguished from other Jews. He has exclusive rights and privileges. These include the privilege to serve in the Sacred Temple – the Bait HaMikdash. He receives tithes and a share of the sacrifices. The kohen is also subject to unique prohibitions. These relate primarily to two areas – marriage restrictions and spiritual impurity. The marriage restrictions include a prohibition against marriage to a divorcee. The restriction against spiritual impurity prohibits the kohen from contact or association with a corpse. This restriction is recorded in the above passage.
Except for his kin, that is near unto him, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother; and for his sister a virgin, that is near unto him, that has had no husband, for her may he defile himself. (Sefer VaYikra 21:2-3)
- Relatives for whom we mourn
The restriction upon the kohen against spiritual defilement is not absolute. It does not apply to defilement incurred in the process of burying an immediate relative. Maimonides explains that this exception does not merely permit the kohen to actively participate in the burial of these close relatives. He is obligated to defile himself and care for these departed.[1]
The above passages enumerate six relatives on whose behalf the kohen is required to defile himself. These are his mother and father, brother and sister, and son and daughter. This is the basis for a very important and practical law. What is this law?
Maimonides explains that every Jew is obligated to engage in mourning for close relatives.[2] Who is considered a close relative? The Talmud explains that a close relative is defined as any relative for whom a kohen defiles himself. In other words, the Torah obligation to mourn for a relative extends to those enumerated in the above passages. It extends to one’s mother and father, sister and brother, and son and daughter.[3]
- Mourning for one’s spouse
Absent from the list of relatives in the above passages is one’s wife. Nonetheless, Maimonides explains that a kohen defiles himself on behalf of his wife.[4] Similarly, a husband and wife are required to mourn for one another.[5] If spouses are not mentioned in the above passages, from where is the obligation of the kohen to defile himself on behalf of his departed wife derived? Furthermore, what is the source for spouses mourning for one another? As the Talmud explains, the relatives that the Torah requires that we mourn are those on whose behalf the kohen defiles himself. Therefore, the source for mourning must be the self-same source that requires the kohen to defile himself on behalf of his departed wife.
Maimonides responds to these issues by explaining that the law that the kohen defiles himself on behalf of his departed wife is established by the Sages.[6] As would be expected, he also explains that the Sages established the obligation for spouses to mourn one another.[7] This is a remarkably problematic ruling!
- The authority of the Sages is limited
The problem with this ruling is that the authority of the Sages is limited. Among these limitations is that the Sages are not permitted to override a negative commandment. The Torah enjoins a kohen from defiling himself. This law cannot be overridden or disregarded by the Sages. How can they direct the kohen to defile himself on his departed wife’s behalf, if the Torah prohibits the kohen from defilement? She is not included in the Torah’s list of exceptions!
Radvaz suggest that a simple solution to this problem is implicit in Maimonides’ own phrasing. Before considering Maimonides’ comments, an introduction is required. We are obligated to respect the departed. This requires that every departed receive an appropriate burial. Sometimes a person passes away without family or loved ones who will provide a burial. Who is responsible for the burial of this unfortunate person? This person is referred to as a met mitzvah – a dead person for whom it is a mitzvah for every and any person to care. In other words, any person who encounters this tragedy is required to take action and provide for the departed’s proper burial. Even the kohen gadol – the high priest – is required to defile himself in order to bury the met mitzvah. This is notable because, unlike other kohanim, the kohen gadol does not defile himself even on behalf of immediate relatives.
- The kohen’s wife is a met mitzvah
In his discussion of the kohen’s defilement on behalf of his departed wife, Maimonides explains that the Sages assigned to her the status of a met mitzvah. In other words, the Sages directed the kohen to treat his departed wife as one who has no one else to care for her burial.
Radvaz suggests that Maimonides’ comment is not intended to merely identify the reasoning of the Sages in requiring that the kohen defile himself on his departed wife’s behalf. Maimonides’ is explaining the means by which the Sages overrode the Torah prohibition against a kohen defiling himself. The prohibition does not apply to a met mitzvah. As explained above, even the kohen gadol defiles himself to provide a burial for a met mitzvah. The Sages assigned to the departed wife of a kohen the halachic status of a met mitzvah. With the assignment of this status, the prohibition upon the kohen against defiling himself falls aside and he is compelled to provide his departed wife with a burial – as he must do for any met mitzvah. The Sages did not contradict the Torah’s prohibition against the kohen’s defilement. Working within the perimeters of the prohibition, they established the kohen’s obligation for his wife’s burial.[8]
- Respect of the departed and for the living
The Torah’s emphasis on proper care for the dead expresses an ethic of respect for the departed. This ethic can be easily misunderstood and deserves careful consideration. The Torah assigned responsibility for the burial and for mourning to the departed’s close relatives. There are two ways to understand this assignment.
- One understanding is that we are required to demonstrate our love and respect for those close to us by caring for them in death as well as in life.
- An alternative understanding is that the Torah is concerned that every person, whether that person is loved and cherished or distained and shunned, receive a proper burial. The assignment of this obligation to the close relatives of the departed is merely a convenient and practical means of assuring that the departed will be properly buried.
Which of these interpretations is correct?
The first interpretation may be correct. However, the law of met mitzvah reveals that the second interpretation is certainly correct. The met mitzvah has no one to bury him or care for him in death. He becomes everyone’s sacred responsibility.
The reason this ethic is so fundamental is because it communicates to a sensitive, attentive person that every human being is sacred and must be treated with respect and dignity. Even the lifeless body of the departed must be treated with intense dignity – because in this now still body once resided a human being created in the image of Hashem. If this now discarded receptacle of that divine image must be cared for and respected, certainly a human life in which the divine image is reflected demands our respect.
[1] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Avel 2:6.
[2] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Avel 1:1.
[3] Mesechet Megilah 20b.
[4] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Avel 2:7.
[5] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Avel 2:1.
[6] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Avel 2:7.
[7] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Avel 2:1.
[8] Rabbaynu David ibn Zimra (Radvaz) Commentary of Radvaz on Mishne Torah, Hilchot Avel 2:7.