Buried in Sanctity
Mr. Dayan, a”h, was a well-known figure in all of France. When he passed away, it was clear that thousands would participate at his funeral. My dear student, Rabbi Gavriel Elbaz, also wished to escort Mr. Dayan to his final resting place. He took pains to go, together with a number of disciples, to the cemetery where Mr. Dayan would be buried.
To their surprise, they found the cemetery completely empty. The only other people there were participants of a funeral procession escorting a woman to her grave. Rabbi Gavriel turned to the group and asked if the funeral of Mr. Dayan had already taken place. The people replied that it had not. To the best of their knowledge, it would be held one hour later.
When Rabbi Gavriel heard this, he immediately understood that there was a reason why Hashem had arranged for him and his pupils to be there in time for this woman’s funeral. Certainly, He wanted them to join in the burial of a woman which was taking place in this out-of-the-way section of France.
That was what they did.
Unfortunately, there is a French law stating that the gentile gravediggers are the ones who lower the body into the ground for burial. According to Torah law, this is not ideal. One has to zealously stand up for his rights as a Jew in order to offer his loved one a proper Jewish burial.
When they reached the burial site, Rabbi Gavriel Elbaz and his disciples noticed that the gentile gravediggers had not yet arrived to lower the body of this Jewish woman into her plot. They took advantage of the opportunity to do it themselves.
As soon as they finished burying the woman according to Torah law, the gravediggers finally arrived. The woman had an ideal Jewish burial.
One hour later, the funeral procession of Mr. Dayan reached the cemetery. In spite of the thousands who came out to escort him, only the gentile gravediggers lowered his body into the ground. He did not merit what this simple woman did. She was buried by Jews.
When Rabbi Gavriel reflected on this story, he came to the conclusion that this woman must have had some merit to her credit. She must have done some special mitzvah which earned her proper Jewish burial.
