Q: Does the Rambam imply that Noahides should be buried together with Jews?
Q: In the Mishneh Torah “Kings and Their Wars” 10:12, the Rambam says, the sages commanded us to visit sick idol worshippers, to bury their dead together with the Jewish dead and support their poor along with the Jewish poor for the sake of maintaining peaceful relations. For it says, “G-d is good to all, and His mercies extend over all His works” (Tehillim 145:9), and “[The Torah’s] ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths, peaceful” (Mishlei 3:17). The Rambam’s statement begs the question: should a righteous gentile be buried in a Jewish cemetery today if they so desire?
A: The straightforward meaning of the Rambam is that the Jews are obligated to bury Noahide dead just as we are obligated to bury Jewish dead, but not that they must be buried together. At Har Hamenuchot (the Givat Shaul Cemetery) in Jerusalem there are special sections for non-Jews.
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