[Avodah] Kavod haMeis

[Saul Guberman]

On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 22:12, <kennethgmiller at juno.com> wrote:
> R' Micha Berger asked:
>> Is it a bizayon hemeis issue to publish gruesome photos of murder
>> victims? Can the family decide the niftarim would have prefered
>> to have their images used for the cause, and we could assume they
>> would not consider it a bizayon?

> Just off the top of my head, I don't see a difference between that case,
> vs. when the family decides that it would not be a bizayon to delay the
> funeral in order that certain people would be able to attend...

Delay of the funeral is weighing bizayon of the delay vs. kavod to the
niftar by having a larger funeral & more/closer people to give hespedim.
I am not sure of the kavod factor in releasing the pictures.


On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 19:49, Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org> wrote:
> [YD [364]:4 -micha]

> Is that due to publicizing the murder, or enraging the qehillah toward
> murderers? ...                                       the Pischei Teshuvah
> discusses loss of blood. See also the Raz, who cites shu"t haMaharil 65,
> also discussing "dam yotzei mimenah". Taharah becomes impossible as the
> blood would be lost. It would seem that perhaps the problem is the blood
> in the clothing requiring qevudah, and not necessarily pirsum.

I recall learning the reason for burying in their clothes without
a tahara at a chevra kaddisha shiur. It was not so that the people
would take revenge, but that God would "see" the plight of his people &
take He would take revenge. This explanation goes well with adding HYD,
when speaking of the niftarim.

On a practical note, this generally does not happen in the US because
by the time EMS,the Emergency room & the Medical Examiner have finished
their work, the person is no longer in their street clothes, so a taharah
is done on a murder victim.

Saul