The Chief Rabbi of Kyiv visited with the IDF's Shura Base on Wednesday to discuss the unique halachic challenges related to Jewish soldiers who fall in combat.
Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, who is also the Chief Rabbi of the Ukrainian Prison Service, met with IDF Chief Rabbi Brig. Gen. Rabbi Eyal Krim to learn about the IDF’s protocols for identifying fallen soldiers since October 7, and to discuss matters relating to the burial of Jewish war casualties.
Rabbi Markovitch has made continuous efforts since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022 to make sure that Jewish casualties in the Ukrainian army receive proper care and burial in full accordance with halacha (Jewish law).
"When a Jewish soldier falls in battle, a race against time begins to ensure a proper Jewish burial before the army’s cremation procedures are carried out," he said.
He told The Jerusalem Post that "war brings other halachic problems; with soldiers it's not the same as with civilians."
One of the most prominent halachic issues faced by Rabbi Markovitch is the Ukrainian military’s standard practice of cremating fallen soldiers, which is not allowed in Jewish law.
Rabbi Markovitch told the Post that it is traditional in Ukraine to view the body before burial. This, he said, is one of the reasons that the army tries to cremate the bodies, as it does not want people to have to see the brutal way in which the soldier might have been killed.
Despite the normative protocol, he told the Post that the Ukrainian army tries very hard to respect and honor all religions. "If there is a religion that is forbidden to bury or forbidden to remate, then they really want to honor that for the benefit of the soldiers, for the benefit of the people, for the benefit of religion."
The difference in requirements for fallen Jewish soldiers in Ukraine was one of Rabbi Markovtich's incentives for the trip to Israel: "I want to make it legal [in Ukraine] so it's fixed within the army's protocol."
He told the Post that it was important for him to clarify that he "does not interfere in military matters, only handle halakhic matters."
Rabbis Markovitch and Krim also discussed the issue of burying a body on the sabbath, specifically at which points does it become permissible to desecrate the sabbath in order to bury a fallen Jewish soldier. Additionally, the two discussed how to identify a body on the sabbath given the prohibition on the use of technology.
Rabbi Markovitch was invited to see the IDF's casualty identification facilities, including the IDF Rabbinate's advanced methods for handling fallen soldiers with dignity while simultaneously strictly adhering to halachic principles.
“The reality on the Ukrainian front demands swift and creative solutions,” Rabbi Markovitch said following the meeting.
He added that despite geographical distance and different circumstances between Israel and Ukraine, "we share mutual responsibility and a joint commitment to ensure that every Jewish soldier, wherever he may be, is granted their final honor in accordance with Jewish mesorah and halacha.”
Rabbi Markovitch also answered a question he is commonly asked, which is why Jewish soldiers fight in the Ukrainian army. "They are connected to Ukraine, they are fighting for the country where they live, for the country where they grew up, for the country which they believe in," he told the Post. "And rightly so. And that's why they are trying very, very hard. To defend their country."
Halachic questions around burial
Typically, it is forbidden to leave the dead person un-buried overnight unless it is unavoidable, for example if relatives need time to travel to the funeral, or if the person dies at night, in which case they may be buried the following day. Otherwise, the body should be buried on the day of death.
However, if a person died on Shabbat or Yom Kippur, Jewish Law mandates that the person is not buried on that day, nor should their body be moved, as it desecrates the sabbath.
Additionally, it is not permissible to ask a non-Jew may to deal with the burial, as it is rabbinically allowed for a Jew to ask a non-Jew to do something that would be prohibited if they themselves did it.
