וַיֹּ֤אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל֙ אֶל־שָׁא֔וּל לָ֥מָּה הִרְגַּזְתַּ֖נִי לְהַעֲל֣וֹת אֹתִ֑י וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שָׁ֠אוּל צַר־לִ֨י מְאֹ֜ד וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֣ים ׀ נִלְחָמִ֣ים בִּ֗י וֵֽאלֹהִ֞ים סָ֤ר מֵֽעָלַי֙ וְלֹֽא־עָנָ֣נִי ע֗וֹד גַּ֤ם בְּיַֽד־הַנְּבִיאִם֙ גַּם־בַּ֣חֲלֹמ֔וֹת וָאֶקְרָאֶ֣ה לְךָ֔ לְהוֹדִיעֵ֖נִי מָ֥ה אֶעֱשֶֽׂה׃ (ס)
And Samuel said to Saul: ‘Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?’ And Saul answered: ‘I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.’
Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah
One should not remove a corpse and bones1Two reasons are advanced for this prohibition: a) The disturbance of removal is hard on the dead — TaZ, ShaK. Cf. I Sam. XXVIII, 15; Job III, 13; b) Removal is considered a disrespectful treatment of the dead — RIDBaZ to Yad, Ebel XIV, 15. One who was buried in a non-Jewish cemetery may be removed to a Jewish one — P.Tesh., G.Mah. from a dignified grave to [another] dignified grave, nor from an undignified grave to [another] undignified grave, nor from an undignified one to a dignified one, and needless to say [that it is forbidden] from a dignified one to an undignified one. And [to remove a corpse] into his own,2To his family grave. even from a dignified [grave] to an undignified one, is permissible,3 M.Abr. to O.Ḥ. § 526, n. 18. for it is pleasant for a man that he rest beside his ancestors.4Y.M.K. II, 4(81b); Sem(H). XIII, 7. M.K. 13a, Tosaf. s.v. אין. And likewise, in order to bury him in the Land of Israel, it is permissible [to remove him].5For it is a means of atonement for the dead and relieves them from judgment. Cf. Y.M.K. I, 5(80c); Y.San. VI, 12(23d); Deut. XXXII, 43: ‘And his land doth make expiation for his people.’ The rendering of this verse is in accord with Ket. 111a. One who expressed his opinion during lifetime that it is not praiseworthy to be removed from outside of Israel for burial in the Land of Israel (cf. Y.Kil. IX, 4(32d); Y.Ket. XII, 3(35b), is permitted to be removed by his children for burial in the Land of Israel, unless he left specific instructions not to be buried in Israel — P.Tesh. If they placed him there [originally] with the intention that he be removed [later], it is permissible under all conditions.6Cf. infra § 364, If he is not safe in this grave, for there is apprehension that heathens may take him out, or that water may enter therein, or that it is a grave that has been found,7A grave in which a corpse was buried without the knowledge or consent of the owner of the ground. In other words, this particular spot was just discovered to be a grave. it is a religious duty to remove him [therefrom].8Hag. Asheri to M.K. Some are wont to place some earth from the Land of Israel in the grave;9Or Zaru‘a — G. (and this custom has a basis).10Tanḥ. Vay-yeḥi s. 3 (B. VI) — G.