Embalming and casket burial are pagan rituals.
Jewish preservation customs are simple. Embalming and cremation were generally not allowed, as they were seen as mutilation of the body. As described in the scriptures, preparation for burial consisted of wrapping the body and the application of oils and spices.
Greek historian Herodotus maintained that the Egyptians were the first people to believe in the immortality of the soul. They believed that the soul would never fully forsake the body as long as the body remained intact.
Embalming was for the purpose of preserving the body so that the soul could return to it after the completion of the “circle of necessity.” This “circle of necessity” was a 3,000 year journey the soul was required to make before it could return to the body. At that time, the whole man would arise from the dead and live with the gods forever.
Jewish preservation customs are simple. Embalming and cremation were generally not allowed, as they were seen as mutilation of the body. As described in the scriptures, preparation for burial consisted of wrapping the body and the application of oils and spices.
Greek historian Herodotus maintained that the Egyptians were the first people to believe in the immortality of the soul. They believed that the soul would never fully forsake the body as long as the body remained intact.
Embalming was for the purpose of preserving the body so that the soul could return to it after the completion of the “circle of necessity.” This “circle of necessity” was a 3,000 year journey the soul was required to make before it could return to the body. At that time, the whole man would arise from the dead and live with the gods forever.
