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More and more Jews are choosing cremation. These rabbis aren't happy about it.

JL;DR SUMMARY As more Jews opt for cremation, a practice traditionally seen as non-compliant with Jewish burial customs, a notable tension arises within the community. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish TraditionHolocaustOrthodox JudaismConservative MovementReform MovementJewish Burial PracticesReconstructionist JudaismCremationRabbi Elchonon ZohnCost Of Burial

Places mentioned

Deerfield Beach, Florida, United States
"said the retired Long Island dentist who now lives in Deerfield Beach, Florida."
Dallas, Texas, United States
"But they are climbing, said Charles Hirschberg, of the Dallas Chevra Kadisha."
Boca Raton, Florida, United States
"Rabbi David Steinhardt, spiritual leader of Congregation Bnai Torah in Boca Raton, one of the largest Conservative congregations in Florida,"
Port Jefferson, New York, United States
"into the Gulf Stream and eventually they will float up to Port Jefferson where we used to live."
New York City, New York, United States
"Conservative movement holds that cremation should be discouraged, but it is not formally forbidden, according to Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky, spiritual leader of Congregation Ansche Chesed on the Upper West Side of New York City."
New York, United States
"when it asked clergy and others to estimate the number of Jews being cremated."
Canada
"lists more than 650 synagogues in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Australia"
United Kingdom
"lists more than 650 synagogues in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Australia"
Australia
"lists more than 650 synagogues in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Australia"
Egypt
"Vayechi, deals with Jacobs death and his directive to his children that he be buried in Israel and not in Egypt, where he was then living."
Israel
"Vayechi, deals with Jacobs death and his directive to his children that he be buried in Israel and not in Egypt, where he was then living."

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Cairo Item ID 52231
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-05-22 05:32:04 UTC
Curated 2025-05-22 08:31:19 UTC