Why Doesn't Judaism Allow Cremations?

Question:
My grandmother recently revealed, that she intends to be cremated. This disturbed me, as I know Judaism doesn't allow cremations, but I'm not sure why.

What should I tell her?
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Answer:
Whether you are a "spiritual" person or not, there are some very good reasons not to be cremated.

1) Our body doesn't belong to us. It is given to us on loan, for the duration of our life on this earth. We are charged with looking after our body, and are permitted to use it, for furthering the cause of goodness in this world.

Once our souls return to where they came from, we lose any rights in the body, and must return it as is.

Cremation is like borrowing someones car, and torching it, instead of giving it back - not nice!

2) A central Jewish belief is, that those who have passed away, will be resurrected when Moshiach arrives. That means, that
their souls will return to their bodies, and they will live again.

The Jewish burial practices, prepare the body for this experience; but cremation makes it difficult.

3) I recently spoke to someone who attended a friend's cremation. I was struck by her reaction to the funeral. She said, that the atmosphere could only be described as awkward. Here was a group of people, coming to pay their respects to a loved one, but at the front of the room stood an urn.

Try as she might, she was unable to make the association between her friend, and the urn. There was no sense that honor was being paid to the departed -- her presence was no longer felt.
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The Kabbalah teaches, that the soul of the departed remains hovering around the body, at the funeral. It hears the eulogies, and sees those who have come, to bid it a final farewell.

After the burial, a part of the soul always remains at the grave site. There they can be visited; and they are aware of, and attentive to, their visitors.
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Being cremated is unfair to the mourners, who have no tangible grave-site to visit; and more unfair to the soul, who has no resting place in this world.

As for those who have already been cremated, the past is the past. G-d can do anything, and He can certainly forgive them. But for the future, cremation should not be an option.
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Your grandmother is a special lady. May she see many more years of good health, and may she always be treated with the dignity, that she deserves, eternally.