Sanhedrin 47A

תא שמע: ״נבזה בעיניו נמאס״⁠ – זה חזקיהו מלך יהודה, שגירר עצמות אביו על מטה של חבלים. ואי משום יקרא דחיי הוא, מאי טעמא?

The Talmud suggests: Come and hear a proof from what was taught with regard to the verse: “In his eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors them that fear YHWH” (Psalms 15:4). This is referring to Hezekiah, king of Judea, who dragged the bones of his father, Ahaz, on a bier made of ropes, and he did not bury Ahaz in a manner befitting a king in order to disgrace him for his sinful conduct. And if the eulogy and other funeral rites are meant to honor the living, what is the reason that he acted this way, in a manner that brought disgrace upon himself and all of the Jewish people?

כי היכי דתיהוי ליה כפרה לאבוה, ומשום כפרה דאבוה משהו ליה ליקרא דישראל? ישראל גופייהו ניחא להו דמחלי יקרייהו לגביה.

The Talmud answers: Hezekiah did this so that his father would achieve atonement for his sins through his disgrace. The Talmud asks: Can it be that for his father’s atonement they would defer the honor of all of Israel, who would have been honored by a proper eulogy for their late king? The Talmud answers: It was satisfactory to the people of Israel themselves to forgo their honor for him in order that their former king achieve atonement for his sins.

תא שמע, אמר להן: אל תספדוני בעיירות. ואי אמרת יקרא דחיי, מאי נפקא ליה מינה? קסבר: ליתייקרו ביה ישראל טפי.

The Talmud suggests: Come and hear a proof from a baraita: Before he died, R' Yehuda HaNasi said to his disciples: Do not eulogize me in the small towns that you pass as you take my body out for burial, but eulogize me only in the larger cities. And if you say that a eulogy is delivered in honor of the living, what difference does it make to him if he is eulogized also in the smaller towns? The Talmud answers: He thought that the people of Israel would be more greatly honored through him if they gathered together for the eulogies in the larger cities.