Shliach Tells of His Biggest Challenge

By COLlive reporter

Long Island’s newspaper Newsday addressed a single question to religious leaders in the area: “What is the most challenging thing you’ve had to do?”

Here is what Rabbi Anchelle Perl, Shliach and Director of Chabad of Mineola answered:

“Trying to stop families from cremating their loved ones is one area of constant trial and error for me. Time and time again, I find myself sitting with families to explain that Jewish law and tradition is to be buried in the ground.

“Our bodies don’t belong to us. They are given to us on loan for the duration of our lives on this Earth. Cremation is like borrowing someone’s car and torching it instead of giving it back — not nice! A central Jewish belief is that those who have died will be resurrected when the Messiah arrives. That means that their souls will return to their bodies and they will live again.

“The Jewish burial practices prepare the body for this experience. Cremation makes it difficult. Kabbalah teaches that after the burial, a part of the soul always remains at the gravesite. Being cremated, the soul has no resting place in this world. Because the soul is eternal, burning up the body is like burning a live person!

“Then, in my explanation, I usually get very personal. I tell them that my grandfather was cremated — by the Nazis in Auschwitz. Do you want to imitate and further their evil desires?”