I read recently of a case where a Rabbi (I assume as head of a Beit Din) instructed a Jewish burial society not to bury the body of a woman who is the mother of a man who refuses to give his wife a get (bill of divorce). This was done in order to apply pressure on the man to give his wife a get.
There is a halachic obligation to bury the dead according to most authorities that means as soon as possible, See Nitei Gavriel 75:24.
I would like to know what the halachic argument is for not burying someone in order to force another person to give a get.
Answer
In this particular case R. Lau was upholding the UOR’s ruling. The latter’s ruling (viewable here) was based on Rema (EH 154:21), citing earlier authorities, who permits to withhold any aid to a “sarvan” (one refusing to grant a get) including circumcising or burying his children. Upon this precedent the UOR ruled that preventing the mother’s burial is likewise a permissible way of pressuring the sarvan, especially in this case where the mother (the deceased) encouraged her son in his behavior.
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