Wir Friedrich Wilhelm, von Gottes Gnaden Koenign von Preussen…eine Verordnung, in welcher unter anderen vor dem allzuschnellen Begraben der Todten.

(GERMANY).

Ansbach

1793

Decree issued by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II (1744-97) prohibiting immediate burial of the dead. The decree lists in detail signs of death that must be checked. Paragraph twenty admonishes the Jews to prolong the time between death and burial in accordance with the general decree. “It is more important to prevent the burial of the living than to follow the Biblical injunction that no corpse remain unburied overnight. The God of love cannot possibly desire the burial of a living human being.”