Ya’aneh B’Esh [Halachic positions concerning cremation].

BENAMOZEGH, ELIJAH.

Elijah Benamozegh and Sons

Livorno

1906

Hebrew with occasional Italian.

Doubtlessly one of the most original Jewish thinkers to emerge from the ranks of Italian Jewry - an impressive feat by itself - Elijah Benamozegh (1823-1900) often addressed topics of contemporary relevance. Cremation was an especially thorny topic, as the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Haim Castiglioni (1840-1911) approved of the practice. For more on the ensuing polemic, see A. Ferziger, Ashes to Outcasts: Cremation, Jewish Law and Identity in Early Twentieth Century Germany, AJS Review 36:1 (2012), pp. 71-102.