Reciting Kaddish for the Cremated

לֹא־תָלִ֨ין נִבְלָת֜וֹ עַל־הָעֵ֗ץ כִּֽי־קָב֤וֹר תִּקְבְּרֶ֙נּוּ֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא כִּֽי־קִלְלַ֥ת אֱלֹהִ֖ים תָּל֑וּי וְלֹ֤א תְטַמֵּא֙ אֶת־אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָֽה׃ {ס}

you must not let the corpse remain on the stake overnight, but must bury it the same day. For an impaled body is an affront to God: you shall not defile the land that the ETERNAL your God is giving you to possess.

בְּזֵעַ֤ת אַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ תֹּ֣אכַל לֶ֔חֶם עַ֤ד שֽׁוּבְךָ֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה כִּ֥י מִמֶּ֖נָּה לֻקָּ֑חְתָּ כִּֽי־עָפָ֣ר אַ֔תָּה וְאֶל־עָפָ֖ר תָּשֽׁוּב׃

By the sweat of your brow Shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground— For from it you were taken. For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

אִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ: קְבוּרָה מִשּׁוּם בִּזְיוֹנָא הוּא, אוֹ מִשּׁוּם כַּפָּרָה הוּא? לְמַאי נָפְקָא מִינַּהּ? דְּאָמַר: לָא בָּעֵינָא דְּלִיקְבְּרוּהּ לְהָהוּא גַּבְרָא. אִי אָמְרַתְּ מִשּׁוּם בִּזְיוֹנָא הוּא – לָא כֹּל כְּמִינֵּיהּ, וְאִי אָמְרַתְּ מִשּׁוּם כַּפָּרָה הוּא – הָא אָמַר: לָא בָּעֵינָא כַּפָּרָה. מַאי?

§ A dilemma was raised before the Sages: Is burial obligatory on account of disgrace, i.e., so that the deceased should not suffer the disgrace of being left exposed as his body begins to decompose, or is it on account of atonement, i.e., so that the deceased will achieve atonement by being returned to the ground from which he was formed? The Gemara asks: What is the practical difference that arises from knowing the reason that burial is necessary? The Gemara answers: There is a difference in a case where one said before he died: I do not want them to bury that man, i.e., myself. If you say that burial is required on account of disgrace, it is not in his power to waive his own burial, as his family shares in the disgrace. But if you say that burial is required on account of atonement, didn’t he effectively say: I do not want atonement, and with regard to himself one should be able to do as he wishes? What, then, is the halakha?

כִּי הֵיכִי דְּתִיהְוֵי לֵיהּ כַּפָּרָה לַאֲבוּהּ, וּמִשּׁוּם כַּפָּרָה דַּאֲבוּהּ מְשַׁהוּ לֵיהּ לִיקָרָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל? יִשְׂרָאֵל גּוּפַיְיהוּ נִיחָא לְהוּ דְּמַחֲלִי יְקָרַיְיהוּ לְגַבֵּיהּ. תָּא שְׁמַע, רַבִּי נָתָן אוֹמֵר: סִימָן יָפֶה לַמֵּת שֶׁנִּפְרָעִין מִמֶּנּוּ לְאַחַר מִיתָה. מֵת שֶׁלֹּא נִסְפַּד וְלֹא נִקְבַּר, אוֹ שֶׁחַיָּה גּוֹרַרְתּוֹ, אוֹ שֶׁהָיוּ גְּשָׁמִים מְזַלְּפִין עַל מִטָּתוֹ – זֶהוּ סִימָן יָפֶה לַמֵּת. שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ: יְקָרָא דְשָׁכְבֵי הוּא. שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ.

The Gemara answers: Hezekiah did this so that his father would achieve atonement for his sins through his disgrace. The Gemara asks: Can it be that for his father’s atonement they would defer the honor of all of Israel, who would have been honored by a proper eulogy for their late king? The Gemara answers: It was satisfactory to the people of Israel themselves to forgo their honor for him in order that their former king achieve atonement for his sins. The Gemara suggests: Come and hear a proof from a baraita: Rabbi Natan says: It is a good sign for the deceased when he is punished after his death and does not receive an honorable burial or eulogy, as his lack of honor brings him atonement for his sins. For example, if the deceased was not eulogized, or if he was not buried, or if a wild animal dragged his corpse, or if rain fell on his bier, this is a good sign for the deceased. Learn from the baraita that a eulogy is delivered for the honor of the dead, so that when he is deprived of this honor, he achieves atonement for his sins. The Gemara affirms: Learn from the baraita that this is so.

שֶׁהַקְּבוּרָה מִצְוָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים כא כג) "כִּי קָבוֹר תִּקְבְּרֶנּוּ":

If, however, he directed that he not be buried, we do not heed him, for burial is a mitzvah, as Deuteronomy 21:23 states: "And you shall certainly bury him."

יָשׁוּב יְרַחֲמֵנוּ. תִּתֵּן אֱמֶת. אִם כֵּן רָאוּי שֶׁתִּמְצָאֶנָּה בוֹ י"ג מִדּוֹת אֵלּוּ.

Therefore it is fitting that he should [make his actions] resemble the actions of the Crown (Keter), which are the thirteen highest traits of mercy. And they are hinted to in the secret of the verses (Michah 7:18-20), "Who is a power like You; He will again have mercy on us; You shall give truth." If so, it is fitting that these thirteen traits [also] be found in man.

הגה אבל רגיל לעשות עבירה אין מתאבלין עליו (מרדכי סוף מ"ק) וכל שכן על מומר לעבודת כוכבים (שם ופוסקים וכן מוכח מש"ס פי' נגמר הדין וכמה דוכתי) וי"א שמומר שנהרג בידי עובד כוכבים מתאבלים עליו (הגהת אשיר"י פרק א"מ וא"ז) וכן מומר קטן שהמיר עם אביו או אמו דהוי כאנוס (מרדכי ה"א בשם ר"י ומביאו ב"י סימן שמ"ה) וי"א דאין מתאבלין וכן עיקר (שם בשם ר"ח) . הפורשים מדרכי צבור אע"פ שאין מתאבלין עליהם מתאבלין על בניהם (א"ז) (וע"ל סי' שמ"ה):

So too, [does one mourn for] a minor who commits apostasy along with his father or mother, since he was under pressure; and some say that we observe no mourning rites [for him], and this is the [accepted] fundamental principle. Those who dissociate themselves from the practices of the community, although they are not mourned for, [nevertheless], their children are mourned for.

לקבור בקרקע ואם קוברין שני מתים יחד. ובו ו' סעיפים: הנותן מתו בארון ולא קברו בקרקע עובר משום מלין את המת ואם נתנו בארון וקברו בקרקע אינו עובר עליו ומכל מקום יפה לקברו בקרקע ממש אפילו בח"ל:

One who places his dead in a coffin and did not bury it in the earth, transgresses thereby a [negative command] because he keeps the dead over night [unburied]. If he placed him in a coffin and buried it in the earth, he does not transgress [a negative command] on his account. Nevertheless, it is [more] appropriate to bury him in the earth proper even [when he is buried] outside the Land [of Israel].