OT - Jewish Burial Practices / Traditions

[Littlearmies]

Hi guys,
I just came back from 10 days holiday on the Somme. Obviously we visited a few cemetaries and I noticed that the gravestones for Jewish burials (the graves are all side by side with no distinction between rank, nationality or religion) had a few pieces of dirt or rock left on each one.

I'm sure I could google this info but figured there would be someone who'd know here.

Regards
Malcolm

[kato13]

Apparently there are a multitude of answers.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070605190353AAsEhkk

Normally yahoo answers is suspect but this is pretty well sourced.

[Jason Weiser]

As the board's resident Jew...or at least the only one that I know of....

The tradition really doesn't have any clear origins. I always thought sociologically that it was a case of well, in the mideast, there isn't a whole lot of flowers, because any piece of land that grows anything is going to be used to grow food, so, in that basic human need to remember the dead, we left stones instead, and even after the diaspora, the tradition stuck, even if we'd forgotten why.

[pmulcahy11b]

Next time I see my brother, I can ask him. My mother was liberal enough that us kids were allowed to choose our own religions, and my brother chose Jewish.

[Jason]

I am not Jewish, but I have a few personal observations.

The body must be buried within 24 hours. The body must be in a complete state (whenever possible; there is a semi-famous photo of young rabbis-in-training on their hands and knees with tiny metal scoops colecting human remains after a car-bomb in Isreal). Attendees of the grave-side service may each fill the grave with a spade full of dirt.

Pre-edit :)

Actually I found a good site that has a ton of details. Very interesting and moving actually.

http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/cycle/death.htm

[headquarters]

As the board's resident Jew...or at least the only one that I know of....

The tradition really doesn't have any clear origins. I always thought sociologically that it was a case of well, in the mideast, there isn't a whole lot of flowers, because any piece of land that grows anything is going to be used to grow food, so, in that basic human need to remember the dead, we left stones instead, and even after the diaspora, the tradition stuck, even if we'd forgotten why.
A way of caring for the grave and the remains - at the same time a way of honouring the memory of the ones that are gone .