Jewish cemetery

For other uses, see Jewish Cemetery.

Jewish graves, Israel

Vandalized Jewish tombstones in Jerusalem

Jewish cemetery at Kasteelwal in Buren, The Netherlands.

Jewish cemetery Wankheim/Tübingen, Germany

Jewish cemetery at Aalsdijk in Buren, The Netherlands. Located outside of the city walls.

Jewish cemetery in Nemyriv, Ukraine

Jewish cemetery in Hannover, Germany

Sandstone vestige of a Jewish gravestone depicting a Tzedakah box. Jewish cemetery in Otwock (Karczew-Anielin), Poland.

A Jewish cemetery (Hebrew בית עלמין) ("beit almin" or "beit kvarot") is a cemetery where members of the Jewish faith are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including bet kevarot (house of tombs), beit almin or bet olam (house of eternity), the bet chayyim (house of the [eternal] life) and bet shalom (house of peace).

The land of the cemetery is considered holy and a special consecration ceremony takes place upon its inauguration. According to Jewish tradition, Jewish burial grounds are sacred sites and must remain undisturbed in perpetuity. Establishing a cemetery is one of the first priorities for a new Jewish community. A Jewish cemetery is generally purchased and supported with communal funds.

Showing proper respect for the dead (kevod ha-met) is intrinsic to Jewish law. The connection between the soul and the human body after death is an essential aspect of Jewish belief in the eternity of the soul. Thus, disinterring the dead, deriving benefit from a corpse or grave, or acting in any way that may be perceived as "ridiculing the helpless" (l’oeg l’rash), such as making derogatory remarks or joking, but also partaking in the pleasures or needs of the living, such as eating, drinking or smoking, are forbidden in the presence of the dead.

Showing proper respect for the dead also requires a prompt burial, the waiver of certain rabbinic restrictions on Shabbat and religious holidays to insure proper care of the dead, the ritual cleaning (tahara) and dressing of the body in shrouds (tachrichim) before burial, and laws concerning proper conduct in a cemetery.

To ensure that the requirements for Jewish burial are met and that each member of the community is afforded a proper burial, Jewish communities establish burial societies known as the Chevra Kadisha (The Holy Society) to provide these services free of charge. In larger Jewish communities, cemeteries are sometimes subdivided into sections according to the chevra kadisha that uses and is responsible for that section of the cemetery's care and upkeep.

History

Early Jewish cemeteries were located outside of the city. In the Diaspora, it is traditional to bury the dead with the feet in the direction of Jerusalem. The tombstones usually have inscriptions in Hebrew and the regional language. During the Nazi Germany regime, Jewish cemeteries all over Europe were destroyed and desecrated.

The largest Jewish cemeteries of Europe can be found in Budapest, Łódź, Prague, Warsaw, Vienna and Berlin. Other Jewish cemeteries in Europe include the Jewish Cemetery in Khotyn and the Chatam Sofer Memorial (part of the Old Jewish Cemetery in Bratislava).

Jewish Cemetery of Aquincum (Old Buda), Budapest, Hungary

The cemetery was opened by the Jewish community in 1922. The opening speech was held by Ignác Schreiber, a young rabbi, who died only 3 days later, becoming the first person to be buried there. Later the ashes of Mózes Müncz, Gyula Wellesz and Gyula Klein, Chief Rabbis of Aquincum were brought here. The tomb of Mózes Müncz is a significant place of pilgrimage.

In the cemetery, there can be found the tombs of the Maros Street Hospital’s 149 victims, who were murdered by the members of the Hungarian arrow cross army, patients, doctors and nurses alike. Furthermore, here lie some of the renowned artists and scientifists, for instance the victim of fascism, writer, hu, and the internationally famous psychologist, Ferenc Mérei.

United States

In the United States, the Coming Street Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina, Mikveh Israel Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hebrew Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, B' Nai Israel Cemetery in Ashland, Wisconsin, and the Old Jewish Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, are some of the country's oldest Jewish cemeteries.

The mission of the International Jewish Cemetery Project is to document every Jewish burial site in the world.

See also

• Bereavement in Judaism
• Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery
• Jewish cemeteries in Hungary

External links

• IAJGS International Jewish Cemetery Project
• JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry
• Database of European Jewish Burial Grounds