Burial

I’ve been visiting my 90-year-old mother in Los Angeles this week. In the evenings, I’ve been reading to her from an autobiography written by her first cousin, Peter Stern — who also happens to be my godfather.

It’s been unexpectedly moving. As I’ve read aloud, I’ve learned so much about our family and about Peter himself. It’s powerful diving deeply into someone’s story — you start to see them in a new light, to understand why they are the way they are.

It’s a wonderful reminder to ask people about their past, their opinions, and their dreams. The more we listen, the more we understand and appreciate them.

At Aseret, we seek to trace every mitzvah back to one of the Ten Commandments.

This week’s parsha, Chayei Sarah, begins with the story of Avraham burying Sarah in Chevron. Getting the remains of the last four murdered hostages in order to give them a dignified burial remains one of Israel’s top priorities.

Burial is a mitzvah — Maimonides lists it as positive commandment 231. But which of the Ten Commandments does it connect to?

I’d like to suggest: “Do not steal.”

At its core, Do not steal teaches respect for what belongs to others. And what is more profoundly “ours” than our bodies — the vessels through which we live, act, and create in this world? Burial is the act of honoring a person’s most important possession.

Babe Ruth’s baseball bat is worth millions — not because of what it can do now, but because of what it did. How much more so the body of a person who has lived?