Elmakayis z"l body released for burial after 55 days in Uman

The body of Rav Yitzchak Elmakayis z"l, a Breslov chassid from London and father of seven, has finally been released for burial, it was announced Thursday evening in Uman, Ukraine.

Rav Elmakayis z"l was found dead during Rosh Hashanah in Uman under circumstances that raised strong suspicion of murder. His body was held for approximately eight weeks as Ukrainian authorities investigated the circumstances of his death.

The release came after the efforts of Rav Yaakov Jan, the rav of Uman, who worked with the relevant authorities to resolve the matter. The levaya is expected to depart from the tziyun of Rav Nachman of Breslov in Uman, with the time to be announced shortly.

Rav Elmakayis z"l had gone out on the night of Rosh Hashanah for hisbodedus in the forest near Uman. On the morning of Yom Tov, local police circulated a photograph of his bruised and bloodied face in an attempt to identify him. Rescue forces were called to the scene, and the niftar was identified by acquaintances from Britain. Severe signs of trauma were found on his body, and growing assessments strengthened the suspicion that this was a murder rather than a medical event.

In recent weeks, a halachic and communal storm surrounded the question of burial. A rabbinic assembly convened in Bnei Brak with the participation of HaGaon Rav Moshe Bransdorfer and HaGaon Rav Chaim Yosef Dovid Weiss (the Chida"o), Raavad of Satmar in Antwerp, to discuss the matter. During the assembly, it emerged that askanim had improperly used the dayan's name to delay the burial: the original letter permitting a brief delay for investigative purposes had its date erased and was published in a misleading manner.

The Chida"o clarified at the assembly that he was shocked to discover that various askanim had used his name improperly, and he wrote an additional, clear letter stating that it is strictly forbidden to delay the burial any further. The rabbanim issued a sharp and unequivocal psak halacha that he must be buried immediately in Uman.

The rabbinic assembly last night in Bnei Brak, led by the Chida"o (Photo: Courtesy of the photographer)

Ukrainian authorities, first the Cherkasy police and later the Kyiv police, repeatedly delayed the release of the body for "new investigations" and repeated autopsies. Under local Ukrainian law, police have the authority to hold a body for up to 30 months before being required to file formal charges. The niftar was divorced, had no living parents, and all seven of his children were under 18 at the time of the tragedy.

Nachman Dikstein, a Zaka askan abroad, approached HaGaon Rav Chaim Yosef Dovid Weiss, dayan of Satmar in Antwerp, with an urgent she'eilas chacham on the complex halachic question. The dayan ruled that from a halachic standpoint, it is permissible to delay the burial temporarily, but only for the purpose of the criminal investigation and apprehending the murderer.

Now, after approximately eight weeks of agonizing waiting, the family of the niftar and the Breslov world will finally be able to bring him to his eternal rest.