Jewish Custom of Charging for Burial Plots and Ownership by the Deceased

Description

The Chasam Sofer defends the universal Jewish custom of charging even a nominal sum for a burial plot, arguing from Bava Basra 112a and the precedent of Avraham's purchase of Me'aras HaMachpelah that burial in one's own land is a dignity owed to the deceased himself. He refutes objections that the concern is only for the living family, demonstrating through the Yerushalmi that the dead have genuine awareness of their burial circumstances, and upholds the ancient custom as halachically well-grounded.