It's been a year now since I had the unfortunate honor of commemorating two women in one day whom I love very much. I remember last year, flying back and forth from funeral to funeral, the differences between each.
My great-great aunt of blessed memory was Orthodox and very traditional (she lived in Washington D.C.). She was buried in a simple pine casket in an old cemetery. My cousin of blessed memory was Reform and, though spiritual, still more secular (she lived in Indiana). She was buried in an ornate casket in a very old cemetery.
Though the ornate casket certainly showed honor and respect for my cousin, it is traditional for Jews to be buried in simple wooden caskets. These caskets cost less and are less of a burden for the surviving family members to afford. It is important to remember that, according to Judaism, the soul is immortal while the body decomposes.
"When a beloved family member dies, one should mourn his or her loss. But that is all one should mourn. One should not mourn the cost of the funeral" (486).
Day 355: A Law That Needs to Be Changed
I feel very uncomfortable with today's section. Rabbi Telushkin reprimands through his writing, a law written by Rambam in which he states that a teacher or parent who kills a child while teaching them something is exiled to a city of refuge but not punished in any other way.
Rabbi Telushkin points out that Jewish students who have suffered in the past may have had more comfortable educations if Rambam had written with a sweeter tone. However, I am no Torah scholar nor a Talmud scholar. I am simply trying to learn a little each day and I feel uncomfortable having an opinion on this section as I think I need a lot more knowledge in order to better understand it.
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