Definition:

Received tradition is that only Jewish people can be buried in Jewish cemeteries. This is based on a number of source texts. One of the earliest is the Talmudic statement “We do not bury the wicked next to the righteous” (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 47a). This was taken by some commentators (eg. Ran to Gittin 61a) to indicate that non-Jews were not to be buried next to Jews. Today, this interpretation is widely considered inaccurate and distasteful, since we would not describe members of other religions (or none) as “the wicked.” Less problematic is the opinion of Rashi, an important 11th Century French commentator, who says that we bury non-Jews as well as Jews. If a Jewish person were to happen upon an unattended corpse of a non-Jew, that person must take responsibility for ensuring respectful treatment and a decent burial just the same as if it were a Jewish corpse; the only difference would be that the corpse would be buried in a non-Jewish cemetery (Rashi on Gittin 61a). Rashi’s commentary was accepted and followed by later commentators. Although the Talmudic passage upon which he was commenting is potentially unclear on its stance regarding mixed faith burials, since the 11th Century, the tradition has been to reserve Jewish cemeteries exclusively for Jews.

Today, there are some cemeteries who have certain provisions for burying people of different faiths, mainly spouses, in the same area. Many of these have allocated space near to a dividing path, allowing for the Jewish spouse to be buried in the Jewish cemetery and the non-Jewish spouse to be buried across the path, in a plot that is technically not a part of the Jewish cemetery. This is often found in Jewish cemeteries which are a part of larger municipal cemeteries.

Crematoria are non-denominational venues which hold services for people from different religious backgrounds. While not a burial, this may be an option for families wanting a memorial, such as a space on a wall of remembrance or in a rose garden, for a mixed-faith couple in the same place.

There also exist non-denominational cemeteries. Many rabbis would officiate a funeral service for a Jewish person in one of these cemeteries.

Sources:

• Mixed Faith Burials by Jonathan Romain (Number 1 of the series Responses by Memebers of the Assembly of Rabbis of the RSGB to Contemporary Issues)

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