Picture is from Belize where I went Scuba Diving for a couple of weeks in 2006

May a Jew be Buried At Sea?

Burial at sea is a big topic now because of the recent events regarding Osama Bin Laden. He was killed by the United States Marines and his remains were dropped into the Arabian Sea. Muslim leaders are now debating whether it was okay according to Islam to do this.

What does Judaism say about burial at sea? Can a Jew be buried at Sea?

In traditional Orthodox Judaism burial at sea is prohibited. The problem with a Jewish burial at sea begins before the burial. Burial at sea nowadays usually means that the ashes from a cremated body are poured into the ocean. Orthodox Judaism does not permit cremation therefore there cannot be any ashes to bury at sea. Reform Judaism will do burials on cremation and will also do burials at sea.

Judaism permits burial at sea if the person died on a sea voyage far from land. Dead bodies carry a lot of diseases and could cause an epidemic to those on board. In such a situation a Jewish burial at sea would be permitted. Cremation is also permitted when the dead body poses a risk to the living. Cremation was a common practice in times of war, famine, drought and plagues where there were too many bodies to physically dig holes for.

With today’s advanced mining machinery we have the ability to dig big holes quickly; perhaps cremation would not be permitted by Jewish Law. Please G-d the Rabbis should never need to deal with this question.

So back to Mr. Osama Bin Laden: I understand the United States burying him at sea. This would be to prevent his burial site becoming a shrine. But was it okay according to Islam?  Islam permits burial at sea in the event were the body could not be brought back to land. Islam also permits burial at sea if there was a risk of the enemy digging up the body to mutilate it. Thus said, I think there are enemies of Osama Bin Laden who would happily have dug up his grave and mutilated the body. However, I am a Rabbi and probably don’t have authority to decide on Islamic law… oh well, I’ll leave it to the Imams to decide!