Sunday, December 4, 2016

Amputation

Q: Is it true that amputated limbs are buried.  What happens if a person does not know where they are going to be interred?

A: Aggadda (legend) tells that the righteous shall gather in Olam HaBa (the Universe to Come).  Our bodies, the aggadda continues, will be resurrected as they are buried.  As you may guess, missing pieces will not be resurrected. 
A different approach (or one that is implicit in the idea of burying amputated limbs) is that the dead must be treated with respect.  Accordingly, this second view takes into consideration the many difficulties encountered in burying limbs before a person has died.    When it becomes too difficult to navigate the obstacles in burying the limb in a per-determined grave the limb can be buried elsewhere.

The Law is as follows: Limbs do not have to be interred with the body.  Tradition avers.

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