A Jewish man who died in Madagascar was ultimately buried according to Jewish law after an unusual transcontinental effort that began with Facebook messages to Chabad emissary Rabbi Nimrod Zuta. The report, published by Asaf Waknin on mako, says the case started when a relative in Israel contacted him online after learning of the death and searching for a Chabad house.
Zuta said the family knew the man had died but did not know exactly where he was, in a country he described as about 25 times larger than Israel. He added that the non-Jewish person responsible for the burial initially refused to cooperate with a Jewish funeral. “We tried for hours to persuade the other side that the soul of the deceased has supreme importance in a Jewish burial,” Zuta said.
After efforts from several directions and pressure on the burial organizer, he agreed to cooperate and postpone the burial by two hours so Zuta could reach the site in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital. Zuta said the cemetery location could not be changed, but it turned out to be separated from the non-Jewish cemetery by ten handbreadths. Because the body had been preserved in the local customary way and no earth was available, he consulted another rabbi, who told him that abroad it is possible to place soil under the body.
Within a short time, two additional Jews from Antananarivo were found to participate in the burial. Zuta said they recited Psalms and Mishnayot, and also the Chabad proclamation, “Long live our master, our teacher, the Rebbe, king Messiah, forever and ever.” He called the effort a mission that required him to “lie on the line” for it, and said the day was exhausting because he received the death notice at night, could not sleep, and spent the morning making inquiries. He also said the relative in Israel sent him emotional messages and was in tears when she learned the burial had been carried out.
