Mrs. Sadie Friedberg (name changed) had passed away at 92. The funeral was scheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m. I was worried there wouldn’t even be a minyan attending. Such is the reality of the American rabbinate.
She had only one child, her son Norman, a psychologist who lived in Utah. Last time I saw Norman, in 2012, he told me he was “ethnically Jewish, culturally American, and spiritually a follower of Buddhism.” He had married twice, but out of concern for the world’s overpopulation, had never had a child.
When I called Norman to inform him of his mother’s petirah he said he preferred her remains be given an “ecological burial,” which eventually transforms the body into a fine powder. It’s similar to cremation, but Norman claimed it’s better for the environment.
After I explained to him that his mother deserved a Jewish burial, he acceded to my request with one caveat: Since he couldn’t approve of the environmentally unfriendly “disposal” of his mother’s remains, he wouldn’t contribute financially to her funeral, nor would he attend the service.
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