Jewish Cemeteries Get New Life

Sections

Neighborhoods

Features

NHI Newsletter

Legal Notices

Some Favorite Sites

Government/ Community Links

by Thomas MacMillan | Jun 24, 2011 7:51 am

(7) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Religion, Beaver Hills, Westville

Thomas MacMillan Photo The gravestones on Jewell Street go back to 1856, but for years some of them have been neglected. Tombstones have toppled and groundhogs have moved in. With a new database of cemetery plots, Eli Greer is poised to perform an “act of true kindness” for those buried there.

That’s “chesed shel emes” in Hebrew. Greer mentioned the term Thursday before a press conference recognizing cemetery improvements.

Mayor John DeStefano and State Rep. Pat Dillon were on hand at the press conference to celebrate the new sidewalks and new trees on Jewell Street, where 15 different Jewish cemeteries lie.

Those who have passed on cannot thank the living for taking care of their graves, Greer explained. It’s an act of chesed shel emes to take care of them.

To ensure they are remembered, Greer and other volunteers have created a comprehensive database of information on all cemetery plots. It’s searchable online and includes plot-by-plot maps of each cemetery. Greer worked with the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven and and the Jewish cemetery association to make it happen.

More work remains to be done. The cemeteries have fallen headstones, groundhog holes, broken fences, invasive trees, and obscured footstones. Greer is now collecting donations to fix all of those problems, which he estimated will cost as much as $18,000.

On Thursday Greer offered a quick tour of the cemeteries. The greater New Haven area holds 44 Jewish cemeteries. The 15 on Jewell Street are “the heart,” Greer said. Each represents a different lodge or synagogue, some of which no longer exist.

The graves hold eight generations of New Haven Jews, he said.

Before stepping through the gates of one, he tucked in his tzitzis, the fringed end of his tallis katan. The action was a sign of respect to the people in the cemetery, who can no longer obey the commandment to wear the tallis, Greer said.

So far, Greer said, he and a couple of volunteers have identified, recorded and mapped 3,900 gravestones on Jewell Street. An additional 2,000 have been catalogued, but not mapped. Greer and the volunteers went stone by stone, translating Hebrew, and converting dates from the Hebrew calendar to the Gregorian calendar. The goal is to map all of the approximately 15,000 plots in all 44 Jewish cemeteries in greater New Haven.

As he moved between the grave stones, Greer pointed out where stones have toppled, tree limbs have fallen, and plants have grown over footstones. In all, 120 stones have fallen and need to be righted. Greer said that’s simply because of neglect; there’s no evidence of vandalism.

Greer pointed out “another very tragic problem”: About a dozen groundhog holes have been found in the cemeteries. “It’s unacceptable,” he said.

Greer wended his way through the cemeteries, coming out on Jewell Street, where the press conference soon began.

DeStefano recounted how Greer and other members of the Jewish community came to him last winter asking for improvements to Jewell Street. As soon as the snow thawed, the city put in new sidewalks, DeStefano said.

Tree-planting guru Chris Ozyck (at right in photo above) explained that the Urban Resources Initiative worked with the Jewish community to select appropriate trees for the street, which were then planted by men in recovery from drug abuse, and by high school students they trained.

Trees without a large canopy were chosen. Greer explained why: Kohanim, Jewish descendants of those who worked in the temple in Jerusalem, are to stay pure and are thus not allowed to be in a building with a dead body. Trees with large canopies that extend over a cemetery and over a sidewalk can create a sort of “tent.” Kohanim can’t walk under such a tree, since it’s then as if they’re in the same room with the corpses in the graveyard.

“This is a loving, respectful act,” state Rep. Dillon said of the cemetery improvements. “We stand on the shoulders of people who are buried here.”

Comments

posted by: Penny Merriam on June 24, 2011 8:59am

So glad to read this article and to learn that maintenance will be done in these cemeteries. My whole family is buried on Jewel Street and specifically in the Adas Israel Cemetery. We go there and clean-up the area as best as we can, but extra work and surveillance is needed and appreciated. Thank you Rabbi Greer

posted by: anon on June 24, 2011 10:03am

This is amazing work. Where can people go to donate towards Mr. Greer and Mr. Ozyck’s work?

posted by: Esther Muroff on June 24, 2011 1:54pm

You can now donate online at http://www.yeshivanewhavensynagogue.org/cemetery.asp (scroll to the bottom of the page). Thank you!!

posted by: pdh on June 25, 2011 7:03am

Terrific! Inspiring!

posted by: mo on June 26, 2011 5:48pm

how can I volunteer to help

posted by: YD Miller on June 27, 2011 10:16am

Great news and kudos to all Askonim for their great work! real Chessed Shel Emmes.

I would like to learn more on the great dignitaries and Torah Giants such as Rabbonim and Roshie Yeshivos that are buried across the 44 cemeteries.

There is now great interest in Kevarim of American rabbis via a website called http://www.kevarim.com perhaps photos of these gravestones can be shared on that website for the remembrance of those who have been forgotten and their legacy which might have been vanished.

Thanks again

Kol Hakoved,YD Miller

posted by: Esther Muroff on June 27, 2011 7:20pm

Those interested in volunteering can contact us by email or phone with the link on the cemetery page: http://www.yeshivanewhavensynagogue.org/cemetery.asp
Thanks!!

New Haven Independent

New Haven Independent Login Form