Many cities around the world are facing a shortage of burial space. But the situation in Jerusalem is more dire than elsewhere. Now the city has come up with an idea to create more space to bury its dead
‘Return to the ground’
Traditional Judaism requires the deceased to be buried in earth, as per the verse in the Bible’s Book of Genesis about man’s inevitable “return to the ground”, and prohibits moving the interred. Finite land resources have forced religious burial societies, known as Hevra Kadisha, to find solutions. In recent years, cemeteries have installed burial walls and other types of structures, according to AFP
Resurrection of the dead
Jerusalem is also where, according to Jewish belief, the resurrection of the dead will commence at the end times. As a result, Jews from around the world have strived throughout history to have their remains laid to rest in Jerusalem, creating a huge challenge for the city’s burial societies
To deal with this problem, Hamenuhot, Jerusalem’s largest Jewish cemetery is now creating a vast underground site. When completed, it will contain thousands of new graves and will span over a kilometre and a half. Officials overseeing the project call it the first of its kind in the modern world
Burying according to Orthodox Judaism
People can lay their relatives to rest in the ground in the centre of the tunnels, but also in their wall—directly in the stone or in a styrofoam structure made to look like it. A continuum of earth will exist throughout the styrofoam structure, surrounding each grave and ensuring the Jewish principle of burial
The official in charge of this project told AFP that burial in stone was used by Jews over 2,000 years ago and appears in early rabbinic literature. He also stressed that the various types of burial in the complex all conform with orthodox Judaism