Experimenting with human flesh

Hello,

Flesh taken from a living person must be buried, or destroyed in a respectful way. One may conduct necessary tests on flesh taken from a living person, but the remains should be buried, or destroyed in a respectful way.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:232)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Burial for an amputated limb

Hello,

Flesh or organs amputated from a living person require burial, or destruction in a respectful way.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 2:231-232)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Recycling a headstone

Hi,

[One may not benefit from a grave and its attachments; therefore, one may not benefit from a headstone.]

When replacing an old headstone with a new one, one may use the old stone for the grave of a needy person; this is not considered inappropriate benefit from the headstone. However, the people involved should take care not to benefit from this stone, such as if the person carving the letters would charge for the stone itself.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:228)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

Changing the wording on a headstone

Hi,

Where a headstone has become weathered and a new engraving is needed, the child of the person buried there is not allowed to reduce the praises that had been written there beforehand; this is a function of the mitzvah of honouring one's parents. However, one may condense the praises without losing their meaning.

Other relatives are permitted to reduce the praises in order to save money, but they ought to examine whether it would be better to leave the original, weathered headstone in place, with its greater praise.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:228)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

A wedding for a mourner

Hi,

Where a prospective bride or groom loses an immediate relative, and the wedding would have been during the week of shivah, and delaying the wedding would mean losing the deposit made for the wedding hall, then they should:

1. Do the chuppah before the burial;

2. Have the burial while observing the seven days of sheva berachot;

3. Make one of the sheva berachot meals in the hall at the originally scheduled time of the wedding; and

4. observe shivah after the week of sheva berachot.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:227)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

Sheva berachot for a mourner

Hi,

Sheva berachot are viewed as a way to gladden the bride, in particular. Therefore, where a new husband is in mourning, the bride is able to forgive her right to sheva berachot.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:226)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

Shemirah in modern times

Hi,

We station people with a body between the time of death and burial, and texts link this practice of shemiah with protection of the body from mice. However, there is evidence that one should have a guard look in on the body regularly even when the body is in a place where there is no concern for mice.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:225) [and see Chachmat Adam, Shaar haSimchah, Matzevet Moshe 14)

Have a good day,
Mordechai