Cemeteries - Jewish Law

 

Jewish Law

 

For a cemetery to be declared Jewish it must:  

* Be consecrated ground, designated and blessed for Jewish burial;  

* Stipulate that the area is exclusively for Jews;  

* If in a cemetery with other faiths, be separated from those areas;  

* Maintain all burial rights;  

* Contain space or walkways for mourners to not step on the gravesites;  

* Include ground crypts. Jewish law dictates the deceased be buried in the earth;  

* Create stations to wash hands. It is a custom to wash hands when leaving a cemetery because you have been in the presence of the dead;  

* Bury the deceased so they are facing east to west - facing toward Jerusalem.  

Sources: International Association of Jewish genealogical Societies-Cemetery Project; www.jdcc.org; Pinnacle

 

The Fifth Commandment twice declares:

"Honor thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:1–21; and Deuteronomy 5:1–23).

 

We can include another imperative that Jews should honor their forebears, many of whom were immigrants seeking an opportunity to make a living and fleeing from religious oppression.

 

Jews have also suffered fear and frustration after anti-Semitic incidents (vandalism) and threats.