MRFF Assists Family of Orthodox Jewish Veteran Quickly Resolve Burial Restrictions at VA Cemetery

March 18, 2025

MRFF President/Founder Mikey Weinstein was contacted via email on March 9, 2025 by a family member of a Jewish veteran who served honorably in the U.S. Military and wanted an Orthodox burial. After learning of two significant conflicts between the burial procedures at the VA Cemetery and the traditional Orthodox Jewish burial ritual, this family member reached out to Mikey for assistance:

From: <MRFF client name redacted>
Subject: Expedited Religious Burial and Service
Date: March 9, 2025 at 10:14:01 PM MDT
To: “[email protected]” <[email protected]>

B”H

Dear Mikey,

Thank you for taking my call this evening at such a late hour. As we discussed my grandfather <name of deceased veteran redacted> passed away <day and location redacted>. His wishes were to have an Orthodox Jewish burial with U.S. military honors as he is a veteran. The <funeral home and location redacted> is scheduled to handle the preparation for burial with a local Orthodox Rabbi. They will ask the <name redacted> cemetery to bury him on their grounds. In our conversation with the funeral director today we were informed of two things which go against our practice and faith as Orthodox Jews.

1) There seems to be a likely extended wait to schedule a burial. This is a big challenge for us because a) our faith requires that the deceased be buried as soon as possible after death even the same day if possible. b) The Jewish holiday of Purim falls out at the end of the week and needless to say it will not be a very joyous holiday for my mother and the other mourners in our family while they wait for the closure of a burial and can start the traditional mourning period.

2) Our faith requires whenever humanly possible that 10 men attend the burial and recite the kaddish prayer for the deceased after burial. We traditionally bury ourselves by hand using shovels with those in attendance and do not use tractors or workers to fill the grave when humanly possible as an extra sign of honor to the deceased. We were told that a graveside service of this kind is not typically allowed at a VA cemetery.

If you are able to help us to expedite the burial as early this week as possible, and help us have the kaddish recited at the gravesite it would be greatly appreciated and a great comfort to our family and an honor to grandpa <name redacted> who served his country honorably and wanted an Orthodox burial.

Sincerely,

<name redacted>

Mikey was able to provide detailed advice on how to effectively request religious accommodations with the administrators of the VA cemetery who were then able to provide appropriate variances from their standard burial procedures in respect for and honor of the wishes of this U.S. Military veteran and their surviving family members.  Upon successful resolution of the family’s concerns, Mikey received a follow-up email on March 18, 2025:

From: <MRFF client name redacted>
Subject: Thank You!
Date: March 18, 2025 at 2:26:26 PM MDT
To: [email protected]

B”H

Dear Mikey and staff of Military Religious Freedom Foundation,

I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude for your help with my grandfather’s burial in the VA cemetery in <location redacted>. As he was a Jew and wanted a Jewish funeral, your advice on how to get the VA cemetery to permit a graveside service with a minyan (a 10 man prayer quorum) and allow us to put in earth ourselves to the grave was a great comfort to us in our time of grief.

You took my calls late at night and were happy to give your advice and make yourself available around the clock (even when you were going into a surgery and could not use your hand).

Your dedication to helping others observe their respective religious practices while in the military is a breath of fresh air and a bright light that shines away the apathy and ignorance that can sometimes be present in our society towards those of different faith practices.

May G-d almighty bless you for this work and give you the strength and resources to continue helping others with great success!

Sincerely,

<name redacted>

Mikey and MRFF profoundly thanks local VA Cemetery administrators for their willingness under the pressures of the current federal administration to accommodate the religious traditions of this honorable veteran and their family.

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