Why is the coffin not opened for viewing at Jewish funerals?
One of the major goals of the funeral and mourning rituals is to solidify memories of the dead in the minds and hearts of the living. We hope to remember them as they were in the fullness of their lives–vigorous, hearty, beautiful–not as they often are at the end of their lives–weak, frail, helpless. Traditional Judaism argues against embalming or cosmetic surgery to the body. The deceased is not dressed in the finest of clothes. No, the Jewish way is to let the photographic image of the best of times be forever blazened in the memory. [A related comment by] Harold Schulweis: One of the most commonly asked questions is about the permissibility of a public viewing of the deceased. They claim to have seen it even at Jewish funerals. I explain that the Jewish tradition is sensitive to the status of the deceased. The deceased is a mirch v’ayns roch, someone who is seen but who cannot see. To open the casket and allow people to look at the deceased is to turn the comforters into spectato
