Chile – Dan Getz, 55, was touring the rainforests of Chile with his wife when he suffered a heart attack, fell into a ditch, and died.
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It took 48 hours before his body could be removed from the ditch and flown to Punta Arenas in southern Chile. According to local law, an autopsy has to be carried out on any dead body that is found in a public place.
Dan's brother, a lawyer in Jerusalem, asked the ZAKA organization and the Israeli consul to intervene. However, despite their efforts, the authorities refused to be swayed.
The head shliach in Chile, Rabbi Menashe Perman, and his fellow shliach, Rabbi Yishai Libersohn, then spoke to all of their contacts, and the authorities agreed to stop the autopsy. [col.org.il]
There was a similiar incident in Ukraine a few years ago. The body was badly entangled in the car and the police wanted to cut his head off to extricate him. A Chabad shliach borrowed a tractor from a local farmer and used it (Someone used it) to pry the car apart and take out the mais. Anyone who goes to Uman knows this story.
Yes, that is my psak halocho, and that of every rov in the world. Nivul hameis is a serious aveiro, and you need a very good reason to justify it. Mere curiosity about how he died doesn’t qualify.
You wouldn’t allow the police to go through someone’s pockets without probable cause to believe that they’ll find evidence of a crime. Shouldn’t you require at least as much before allowing a dead person to be cut up, chas vesholom?
Anonymous said…
END RESULT: its who you know that produces results, get to know the chabad personel in every neighborhood.
February 5, 2008 7:50 AM
Just in case you need to be sure no one performs an autopsy on your victim? 😉
Milhouse said…
OK, so maybe it wasn’t a heart attack. Maybe it was a stroke, or an aneurysm, or a massive burst appendix. What good would it do anyone to know? He’d still be dead, and curiosity is not a good enough reason to cut him up.
February 5, 2008 8:50 AM
Is that your psak halachah? Even the greatest poskim (until you came along) could have issued a psak halachah based on the little bit of information in this article. Good thing the world has poskim like this now.
Tizku L’mitzvos to the shluchim who stopped the autopsy. May the family be comforted, and know no more tzar!
OK, so maybe it wasn’t a heart attack. Maybe it was a stroke, or an aneurysm, or a massive burst appendix. What good would it do anyone to know? He’d still be dead, and curiosity is not a good enough reason to cut him up.
END RESULT: its who you know that produces results, get to know the chabad personel in every neighborhood.
If there was no autopsy performed and he did not receive medical attention in the ditch and his body was found two dys later, how does anyone know he died of a heart attack?
Boruch dyan haemes. May the family see no more tzaar. Hamokem yenachem eschem. What a tragedy..