Funeral Ceremony
Our divine law has also provided for the decent burial of the dead, without extravagant burial rites or the building of illustrious monuments. Rather, it enjoined that the funeral arrangements be performed by the nearest relative, and it regulated that all who pass by when a person is being buried should accompany the funeral and join in the lamentation. It further ordains that the house and its residents be purified following the funeral rites, in order that anyone who has committed murder might be kept at a great distance from the appearance of being pure.
Translated by William Whiston, adapted by Aaron Samuels.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
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