(Jewish Group) RBG will be the first Jew and first woman to lie in state at the Capitol
As she made history during her illustrious life, Ruth Bader Ginsburg will do so upon her passing: She will become the first Jew to lie in state at the Capitol building, and the first woman, Jewish or non.
The body of the late Supreme Court justice, who died Friday at 87, will first lie “in repose” at the Supreme Court building, on Wednesday and Thursday, and then the Capitol on Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday.
Lying in state is reserved for only the most significant and revered public figures. The plan marks a departure from Jewish tradition, which dictates that a body should be buried within 24 hours, with some exceptions, including the Sabbath and time to gather relatives. (Non-Orthodox traditions have made allowances for other exigent circumstances.) No information on Ginsburg’s funeral has been announced.
Ginsburg will be only the 35th person to lie in state at the Capitol. The first was Henry Clay, the revered Kentucky senator who died while still in office in 1852. The second was President Abraham Lincoln, assassinated in 1865. Ginsburg’s coffin will lie on the Lincoln Catafalque, the Supreme Court said.
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