[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
Religion See other Religion Articles Title: Canadians find unique burial solution for the intermarried On a patch of green land in this Canadian province, a wrought-iron gate stood at the entrance to a new cemetery, the words "Dedicated to the partnership of love and faith" inscribed on its doorway. What set the two-month-old burial ground apart was its purpose: The Cemeteries was meant for Jews wishing to be buried next to their non-Jewish partners, something not ordinarily allowed under Jewish law [based on race- converts not allowed to be buried with spouse-Bayonne]. Sandomirsky, 63, is married to a convert. Beth Jacob's spiritual leader of eight years, the yet-to-be ordained Jeremy Parnes, also had a non-Jewish partner. In fact, most of the 700 Jews remaining in the once-thriving community of Regina — roughly 400 of whom belong to the unaffiliated but largely Conservative Beth Jacob — were tolerant of interfaith relationships. Sandomirsky recalled a vibrant, healthy Jewish population in the Regina of his youth. Many young Jews met and married through the B'nai Brith Youth Organization. Now, however, there were only about 15 children in the community who will have attended Beth Jacob's Hebrew school this year. "I realized some time ago that the sphere of assimilation and how we deal with that, historically, involved religions that tend to excommunicate those who fall in love outside their faith," Sandomirsky said. "That's a high price to pay for falling in love. We should encourage these people to stay within the faith, creating a counterbalance to assimilation and the danger of losing people." Sandomirsky decided to apply this concept to death as well. He looked into halacha, or Jewish religious law, and sought out the possibilities for such an arrangement. The Cemeteries were the result. The Cemeteries was separate from other Jewish burial grounds on the property, using greenery, trees, shrubs and a large entrance gate to cut it off from the main area. There are 42 plots in three rows of 14 each, enough to last the community for quite some time. The odd-numbered gravesites were reserved for Jewish members of the synagogue, while the even-numbered ones for non-Jews. Between each of the rows was a steel post laid into a cement block. A small, stainless-steel link chain was inserted between each post, creating an 18-inch high barrier. That's not too high to impede visitors wishing to pay their respects to the deceased couple, but does create the necessary barrier required by Jewish law, Sandomirsky said. To the judge in him, it appeared to be a fair and appropriate solution. "After a lifetime together, the couple should have the privilege — indeed, the right — of being buried side by side," he said. Rabbi Alan Bright, spiritual leader of the Conservative Congregation Shaare Zedek of Montreal, said the concept sounds acceptable to him. "I have no problem with the theory, as long as there is a barrier and it does not have to obscure the view," Bright said. "As long as there is a barrier, burying a Jew next to a non-Jew is permissible according to halacha." In small European Jewish communities, he says, the situation of Jews wanting to be buried in close proximity to non-Jews arose all the time. In the Montreal suburb of Beaconsfield, he notes, "we have a row of trees that acts as a natural barrier between the Jewish and non-Jewish portions of the cemetery there." Sandomirsky says that some older and more traditional members of the community objected when the idea was first proposed, but their concerns were assuaged through dialogue. "When the rubber hit the pavement this past summer, there was no opposition at all," he said. So far, the idea has proved popular. "We've already had three couples purchase plots in the first two months of operation. And I've also had inquiries from Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Jeremy" — all in the province of Saskatchewan — and Winnipeg in Manitoba, Sandomirsky said. He added that he was not aware of similar arrangements elsewhere. "I have visited a number of cemeteries over the years and I have never come upon anything like this," Sandomirsky said. "I didn't base the idea on an existing place" — just on the idea of eternal love.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
#1. To: All (#0)
Even in 2005, the Jews have many laws which are discriminatory. While they push for Egalitarianism in the US.
There are no replies to Comment # 1. End Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||