The first burials of victims of the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh were scheduled for Tuesday, said relatives of the victims.

Other families were waiting for the investigation to continue before they could quickly bury their loved ones, as required by Jewish tradition.

Brothers David and Cecil Rosenthal will be buried on Tuesday by Ralph Schugar Chapel, the Pittsburgh Jewish funeral home, said Rabbi Emeritus Alvin Berkun at USA TODAY. They were two of the 11 faithful who were killed on Saturday when armed suspect Robert Bowers broke into the shrine and shouted "All Jews must die", as he began to shoot.

US lawyer Scott Brady said on Sunday that federal prosecutors were seeking permission to continue the death sentence against Bowers. Brady said that he had sought the approval of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in accordance with the law, to pursue a critical case.

The ensuing attack and shooting between Bowers and the police was so violent that the "breathtaking chapel" of the synagogue, dating back to 1952, would have to be destroyed because of the thousands of bullets in the walls, Berkun said.

Bowers was injured when police stormed the building. He was later arrested.

All the victims were still waiting for Sunday night to rest. Some of the bodies of those deceased during the attack were handed over to their families, while others were being investigated by the coroner's office.

Melvin Wax's family will meet the funeral home Monday, said family friend Bill Cartiff. The funeral will probably take place on Tuesday or Wednesday.

"Because the funeral home was not able to meet us until tomorrow, we are in limbo," Cartiff told USA TODAY. "Everything will happen once the funeral … and then we will have set Shiva for a few days. That's when everyone will come with him for visits and support. "

Shiva is the period of formal mourning observed by the Jews after the death of a close relative. When asked why the Wax family had to wait to meet the funeral home on Monday, Mr. Cartiff explained, "There is a bit of backlog. Most Jewish families in our area visit the same funeral home. "

Jewish tradition requires taking great care of the family of those who have died and the body, said Rabbi Daniel Wasserman at the Chevra Kadisha, or funeral society of the Jewish Orthodox community of Pittsburgh. He was part of a group of volunteers who began waiting Saturday night at the synagogue for the time when the bodies were to be moved. Jewish tradition requires that bodies be properly respected, accompanied and buried quickly, a difficult task in the middle of a major criminal investigation involving 11 deaths and autopsies.

"Last night, in the pouring rain in front of the synagogue, 25 members of our funeral society were present at 1 am, in case the FBI and the medical examiner allowed us to take part in the treatment of the deceased," he said. said Wasserman.

They attended at 5 am, the bodies having been removed from the synagogue and brought to the office of the medical examiner.

Because of the large number of people involved and the horrific circumstances of their deaths, funeral societies of Jewish congregations across the country offer their assistance and services to the Pittsburgh congregations, said Wasserman.

At a press conference Sunday, Dr. Karl Williams, Chief Medical Examiner of Allegheny County, said the autopsies had begun, but that he had not specified the time that he was waiting from his office to complete them.

In general, Jewish law prohibits disfigurement of the body. Exceptions can be made in the case of autopsies, especially during murders for which law enforcement forces need information that may come from an investigation at the crime scene or from other sources. ; autopsies.

This does not mean that the bodies of those who have been killed at the synagogue will not be respected, Wasserman said. The members of the community will accompany the bodies in the tradition of k vod hamet, or honor the dead. It's something that is done for all members of the community, he noted.

In Pittsburgh, when the medical examiner completes his work and the bodies are handed over to the families, they will in turn work with the local funeral homes and with the Chevra Kadisha, or funeral society of their congregation, to organize the burials. Jewish tradition does not allow cremation.

In the case of one of the three congregations that has its seat in the synagogue, this work will be particularly difficult. One of the key members of the funeral society of the Dor Hadash congregation, a progressive Jewish reconstruction community, was Dan Leger, who was wounded during the attack, Wasserman said.

The requirement for a quick burial comes from Jewish teachings on the body and the soul.

"This process helps to remind us that we will only bury the temporary human body." It was intended to be the vessel through which the spirit and the soul can act on this Earth. Once the soul and the body are separated by death, it is our responsibility to put the body back on Earth quickly, as the scripture says, "he said.

While this is the case for anyone, in the case of those who have died in the synagogue of the Tree of Life, the weight of this responsibility is even stronger.

"When a person is killed, only because she was Jewish, she is considered a holy martyr and the stakes are even greater, killed because they were Jewish," she said. he declares.

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