Avodah Zarah 29b: The Photo of the Mahari Aszod

Avodah Zarah 29b: Just as it is forbidden to derive benefit from a dead body, so too it is forbidden to derive benefit from idolatrous sacrifices. And the dead body itself – how do we know? We derive it using a gezeirah shavah from the eglah arufah.

Tosafos, Pesachim 22b: Handing an object that is forbidden to derive benefit from (issurei hana’ah) to a non-Jew is forbidden, because since it would be forbidden to do so for pay, the fact that the non-Jew is grateful to him is considered like pay.

עבודה זרה כט ע”ב: מה מת אסור בהנאה, אף זבח נמי אסור בהנאה. ומת גופיה מנלן? אתיא שם שם מעגלה ערופה, כתיב הכא: (במדבר כ) ותמת שם מרים, וכתיב התם: (דברים כא) וערפו שם את העגלה בנחל, מה להלן אסור בהנאה, אף כאן נמי אסור בהנאה.

פסחים כב ע”ב תוספות ד”ה ואבר מן החי: דכיון דבשכר היה אסור להושיט דאסור להשתכר באיסורי הנאה אף על גב דדיעבד שכרו מותר כדמשמע בפ׳ בתרא דמס׳ ע״ז (ד׳ סב.) מכל מקום אסור לכתחלה ובחנם נמי אסור דמה שמחזיק לו העכו״ם טובה חשיב כמשתכר.

Rabbi Yehuda Aszod, known as Mahari Aszod (1794-1866), was the rav of Szerdahely and a major leader of Hungarian Jewry. His great-grandson, Yehuda Goldstein, wrote a biography of him and printed it at the beginning of the Mahari Aszod’s commentary on the Torah, Divrei Mahari. Near the end, he wrote as follows:

“My great-grandfather never allowed anyone to take a photograph of him. However, many of his students wanted his picture to remember their teacher. Therefore, after he passed away, some of his students decided amongst themselves to dress him in his Shabbos clothes, place him on his chair and take a photograph; this picture is now found in many Jewish homes. However, all those who participated in this deed were severely punished: It was not long before they all died. They were punished for disturbing his holy body after death by carrying him for this purpose.”

Source: Divrei Mahari, p. 41

[The great-grandson assumes that the reason they were punished had to do with lack of kvod hameis. But one could raise a different question: maybe by looking at the photo and selling the photo, they were deriving benefit from a meis, and a meis is אסור בהנאה – one is forbidden to derive benefit from it.

In 1938, Rabbi Zev Tzvi Hakohein Klein of Berlin wrote a small sefer of teshuvos entitled Kahana Mesayea Kahana. In siman 12, he takes the position that it is allowed to photograph a dead body as a memento for the family, because this is not the hana’ah that was forbidden. Hana’ah from a dead body means taking something away from the body, such as hair, and using it. Here, the photo is taking nothing away. However, he forbids the photographer to charge a fee, because that would be making money off issurei hana’ah, which Tosafos forbids (Pesachim 22b).

Rabbi Klein mentions that there was another rav, Rabbi Yitzchok Weiss of Verbau, who forbade taking pictures of bodies, and brought proof from four precedents. Rabbi Klein proceeds to rejects each proof in turn:

1.  Someone had a stillborn, deformed child and wanted to carry it around with him to arouse people’s pity so that they would give him tzedaka. The Pleisi (Rabbi Yonasan Eybeshutz, second perek of Hilchos Yom Tov) forbade this because one may not derive benefit from a dead body. Rabbi Klein’s response is that there, he was making money off the meis, but here, one is merely looking at a photo of a meis.
2. The Noda Beyehuda (2:206) forbids doctors to examine a dead body in order to determine the reason for the illness and learn how to prevent it or cure it in the future. Rabbi Klein’s response is that there, the doctors are violating the honor of the meis by cutting him open, but here one is merely taking a photo.
3. The Sefer Masa D’Yerushalayim tells the story of how they took a photo of the Mahari Aszod “in order to sell the photo” and says this was a great sin because one may not derive benefit from a dead body. Rabbi Klein responds that this was different for two reasons: they violated kvod hameis by sitting him in his chair, and they sold the photo for money. But one may take a simple photo of the meis lying in his coffin as a memorial for the family.
4. Rabbi Yehuda Hechossid’s will says that one may not show a dead body in a grave to a non-Jew. According to this, perhaps one may not show the Mahari Aszod’s picture, or any picture of a body, to a non-Jew. Rabbi Klein responds that perhaps a photo is different from the actual body.]