Massachusetts: Jewish Cemetery Association

The Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts now has a blog, begun in November. The site does not appear to be very active (10 postings in November, only 1 in December), but there are some interesting items there.

Are your ancestors resting at a Massachusetts Jewish cemetery? What does that cemetery mean to you? What are some of your memories about those resting there?

This category is intended to introduce you an important contribution related to our Jewish presence in Massachusetts—Jewish cemeteries. Many people are not aware of the significant role that Jewish cemeteries played and still plays in the formation of our vibrant Jewish communities in Massachusetts today.

For instance, did you know that the first Jewish cemetery in Massachusetts was established in 1844 in East Boston (Ohabei Shalom Cemetery, see above picture). Did you also know that prior to 1844 Jews were not allowed to be buried in Massachusetts?

Click on the above link to read the postings. Click here for the JCAM site with news and announcements pertaining to the state's Jewish cemeteries. Learn about the JCAM's newest edition of "History & Guide: Massachusetts Jewish Cemeteries" as part of their 25th anniversary commemoration. It includes maps and directions to all 209 state Jewish cemeteries and history from 1844.

Berlin: Prenzlauer Berg cemetery photos

Two young people - Emily and Joe - living in Berlin write the new blog, Briefe und Zeitungen.

The first post I discovered was dated December 14. In Berlin itself of course is the largest Jüdischer Friedhof (Jewish cemetery) in Europe, in the northern Weissensee neighborhood.

However, Emily and Joe visited the smaller cemetery in Prenzlauer Berg, south of Weissensee, which was in use until the early 20th century. Their photographs are beautiful.

The cemetery had reached capacity well before the war, and was no longer used in part due to a statewide effort to move all burial grounds away from densely populated areas. It is in some ways, therefore, primordial: moss is growing on many of the headstones, some of which are so faded and weathered as to resemble soft, permeable sandstone. Reading the once careful, condensed inscriptions on these stones is no longer possible. The trees are starting to sag, their bark cracking and peeling, their roots reaching up through the ordered cobblestones. Ivy dominates all natural surfaces. In this way it resembles many other ancient, overflowing cemeteries scattered across all of Europe and the western world. At the same time, however, this natural decay was once savagely disrupted. Headstones and other markers, columns and pillars, have been knocked over, and some remain neatly but unapologetically stacked in adjoining pathways. One can only imagine their untimely and violent overthrow. ...

The text also mentions some restoration work that appears to have been done.

Scrolling down, in the entry dated Friday, December 12, I also found their visit to the Maybachufer Turkish Market recorded in text and colorful photos. This market takes place from 11am-7pm on Tuesdays and Fridays, on the Landwehrkanal between Kottbusser Damm and Hobrechtstrasse.

A graveyard rabbit?

I must confess that I had never heard this term before and, each time I write this phrase, I tend to write "rabbi" instead of "rabbit," which is appropriate for a blog focused on Jewish cemeteries.

Fellow geneablogger Terry Thornton is the founder of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits. The term comes from a poem - The Graveyard Rabbit - by Frank Lebby Stanton. Terry has the complete poem on his website. Here are two verses:

In the white moonlight, where the willow waves,
He halfway gallops among the graves---
A tiny ghost in the gloom and gleam,
Content to dwell where the dead men dream,

Over the shimmering slabs he goes---
Every grave in the dark he knows;
But his nest is hidden from human eye
Where headstones broken on old graves lie.

The premise for the association is that member blogs will be devoted exclusively to cemeteries, grave markers, burial customs and thus promote the study of cemeteries, the preservation of cemeteries, and transcription of genealogical/historical information that may be found in cemeteries.

Although the association has asked member blogs to focus on a limited scope, the Jewish Graveyard Rabbit will be somewhat different.

The JGR will be international in scope, with a team of contributors providing expert knowledge of cemeteries around the world in all countries, preservation/restoration projects, Jewish burial and mourning customs, Jewish tombstone symbols and how to read a Hebrew tombstone to learn what genealogical information may be gleaned. Where differences exist, the blog will address Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi customs and issues. Photographs will be included, as well as extensive links to sites providing relevant Jewish cemetery information.

A team of writers is being gathered, and others are invited to contribute appropriate postings. If you would like to be part of this effort, email jgrarab@yahoo.com, provide contact details, proposed topic/country, etc.

We are looking forward to this new endeavor and invite you to join as contributor or reader.

Welcome,
Schelly Talalay Dardashti