What is Appropriate Behavior at a Jewish Cemetery?
Question: Hi, I am writing an article on cemetery gatherings, sort of like a how-to piece. I was just reading an article on the site, by Maurice Lamm, that states it is inappropriate to bring a Torah into the cemetery as well as to eat/drink there. Why would doing those things be inappropriate, according to Jewish customs? I am not disagreeing, I am simply writing an article that includes the views of those who take an informal approach and those who take a more formal approach. Response: Throughout one’s lifetime, the body partners with the soul, together performing G‑d’s will in this physical world. As such, though the soul departs from the body upon death, the body deserves to be accorded appropriate respect. An object with which a mitzvah has been performed – e.g., a Torah Scroll or a mezuzah – assumes a degree of sanctity; how much more so the human body, which was instrumental in performing countless mitzvot. (In addition, according to the Zohar1, part of the soul retains its con
