A holy resting place

Two Jews in Israel help Christians scatter the ashes of their loved ones in the steps of Jesus.

By BY SAM SOKOL
The location for ash scattering in Migdal (photo credit: Courtesy)
The location for ash scattering in Migdal
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Benzi Lehrer, his long, flowing hair blowing in the wind coming off the Sea of Galilee, stands with his head bowed, an urn containing ashes between his hands.
As he asks the Lord to commend the soul of the deceased to rest and eternal life, he bends over and scatters the remains in a circle on a small memorial plot, part of a garden complex at Migdal, thought to be the site of Mary Magdelene’s town of Magdala, situated on the Jesus trail, a hiking and pilgrimage route, in the Galilean hills.
Looking down, Lehrer says the Lord’s Prayer.
The ashes will eventually dissipate into the air of the Holy Land, becoming one with its soil and stones as he plays his guitar and sings songs of praise.
The company, Holyland Ash Scattering, is the brainchild of American immigrants Harry Zettel and Larry Deverett, Orthodox Jews who, in seeking a way to make a living in Israel, came across a way to provide America’s growing Evangelical Christian population with a connection to the land so many of them cherish.
Since the beginnings of the Roman Exile, Jews in the Diaspora have yearned to at least be buried in the Land of Israel, even if they could not live there as an independent people.
Why, they reasoned, should believing Christians not wish to spend eternity there as well?
It took half a year for Zettel and Deverett to find the land and after a year of preparatory groundwork, they have finally begun scattering the ashes of the recently deceased.
For $750, they facilitate the shipping of a loved ones ashes to Israel, they told The Jerusalem Post. This includes the scattering and a video of the ceremony. A signed and sealed bag ensures that the ashes remain pure and are not tampered with during shipping and a DVD is shipped back to the family as a remembrance.
Zettel says that there is a real need for people to be able to dispose of ashes in a respectful manner, especially as cremation edges towards 50% of the domestic funeral market in the United States.
“I started doing research and I found that cremation, which I thought was 10-20% of the market, is approaching 50% of the US funeral market,” Zettel notes.
It is a concept that many find odd, and even Deverett was skeptical at first. In fact, when Zettel first pitched him the idea, Deverett laughed, thinking it was a joke. However, within 24 hours he had signed on and the long slog of preparatory logistics began.
Once a parent passes on, he says, and ashes of their spouse go to their children, it becomes hard to keep the ashes from damage. Children and pets can spill the remains and they can eventually become a burden.
The Holy Land, he says, is the logical solution.
Regarding the location for his memorial garden, he notes that the obvious sites for scattering ashes are legally impossible.
“If you are a Christian and you are going to have your ashes scattered, where are you going to be scattered?” he asks. “Everyone would say they want to do it on the Temple Mount. It ain’t happening. People would say on the Via Dolorosa – it ain’t happening there either. You can’t, it’s illegal.”
However, to find a spot where Christian tradition says that Jesus walked and preached such as Migdal, which is right on the Jesus trail for easy access, is ideal for his customers, he says. You can even bring your loved ones along with you to scatter yourself when you come on a pilgrimage, he added.
There has been interest among evangelicals, he says, and he and Deverett are looking to South America as well where the fastest growing religion is evangelical Christianity.
While it typically takes two to three years for a new concept to catch on in the funeral business, he says, funeral homes have been signing on and he hopes to one day be the facilitator for the world’s Christians to find eternal peace in the spiritual center of the universe.