Burial

The concept that a body returns to the earth after death is rooted in one of the opening narratives of the Torah, as God tells Adam that he will return to the dust. Stories of people burying loved ones feature throughout the Torah--as when Abraham buries his wife Sarah--and rabbinic sources extrapolate that there is an obligation to bury the dead from Deuteronomy 21:23. Sources throughout the Jewish textual tradition discuss the importance of burial, its laws and customs, and its spiritual significance.