יום א Date: 2 Nisan, 5775 (3/22/15) – Kesuvos#48 {Eliezer}

OUTER SHELLS

[48a middle] R’ Yehudah: A husband must provide for his wife’s burial [according to the standards of her family (even if they are above his)].
RambaM: Everyone has an obligation to bury a body (but relatives have the first obligation).
R’ Rosner explaining Mitzvos Hamelech (R’ Cziment): [Medrash in Bereishis] G-d tells us we are obligated to return our bodies back to the ground, as that is where they originally came from. It is not just a “Chessed” (good deed) but an obligation of the ’Guf’ (body itself). Every person is actually obligated to return his/her own body, but since one cannot, relatives come and act as messengers (before others are obliged). [This is why during the years of the Jews’ travels in the desert, they dug their own graves.]

D-E-ep Thoughts: Our bodies are physical materials drawn from the earth and are only used as vehicles for our souls to obtain Mitzvos (good deeds). We do not keep our shells and we are required to properly ‘dispose’ of them before we move on. Just as the boxes that store our Teffilin (phylacteries) are considered ‘holy,’ so too we must treat everything that enables us to fulfill G-d’s commandments with respect. We must always appreciate and honor all the tools that we are blessed with.