[Avodah] composting?

[Jonathan J Baker]

I suppose it depends what happens with the bones.  Do the bones 
themselves decompose with the soft tissue, or not?

If they do, it's just an accelerated version of the normal burial 
process.  We put holes in the casket, or in Israel bury in cloth, davka 
to speed the decomposition of the body and return it to soil.

If they don't, it would seem more like the process used in the Mishnaic 
period - temporary cave burial while the soft tissue decomposes, then 
removal of bones to an ossuary for long-term storage.  If part of the 
object is space saving, ossuaries are smaller than caskets.

Either way, I don't see a halachic objection.

jjbaker at panix.com    Jonathan Baker    http://www.panix.com/~jjbaker/