Cemetery examines interfaith burials
Reprinted from the 7/16/04 issue of The Jewish Voice & Herald
By Jonathan Rubin

WARWICK - The high rate of intermarriage in Rhode Island is not only getting attention at local synagogues, but at cemeteries as well. Take Lincoln Park Cemetery, Rhode Island's largest Jewish cemetery and one of only two open to Jews unaffiliated with any synagogue. The cemetery recently acquired some land off of Route 37 in order to expand its grave capacity by another 1,000 sites. All of its grounds are reserved exclusively for Jewish burials, as is the policy with all traditional Jewish cemeteries.

However, as Rhode Island's intermarriage rate is at about 43 percent (according to the 2002 Jewish Demographic Study), in the future there are likely to be large numbers of interfaith couples seeking burial plots.

"It's a Jewish community issue that needs to be addressed... It's like an electrified 'third rail," said Michael Glucksman, president of Chased Shel Amess, the organization that runs the cemetery and handles all aspects of maintenance and finance. Lincoln Park serves numerous congregations and organizations in the community, including Temple Emanu-El, Touro Fraternal, Congregation Beth Sholom, and Temple Torat Yisrael.

Glucksman said that interfaith burials are a "growing" issue and that Lincoln Park burial rates have been decreasing over the past few years. Organization officials attribute the decrease to migratory patterns of Rhode Islanders and the lure of Florida, the cemetery's need for expansion, as well as intermarriage.

Some non-denominational cemeteries in the area, such as Swan Point Cemetery, are seeing a slight increase in Jewish burials in recent years and a marked increase over the past 20 years.

"I think the Jewish community is lagging behind in addressing interfaith issues pertaining to Jewish death and burial," said Rabbi Peter Stein, spiritual leader at Temple Sinai in Cranston. Officials at Chased seemed to agree, saying that they have not been approached by congregations regarding this issue, and that multiple meetings with larger Jewish agencies have yielded little more than "moral support."

Separate but equal?
Jewish laws and statutes concerning burial rites and cemeteries are legion. Rabbi Mordechai Eskovitz, of Touro Synagogue in Newport, said that a cemetery is "sacred ground" where one may eat, drink, wear tefillin or even study Torah. And, while Jewish communities usually construct synagogues or schools first upon arrival, Eskovitz points out the Touro's cemetery predates the synagogue by almost 100 years.

Today, questions abound as to the particulars of the burial ritual regarding Jews and non-Jews. For example, does a Jewish cemetery become "treif" (unkosher) with non-Jewish burials inside it? Could yahrzeit memorial plaques be dedicated to non-Jews?

"There's no protocol" for questions like these, Glucksman said, so Chased Shel Amess went to the Rhode Island Board of Rabbis for advice on a potential solution - a special plot of land dedicated to intermarried burials, located near or adjacent to the cemetery, but maintained by another organization besides Chased.

"It was the opinion of the Board of Rabbis that interfaith burial not be permitted in the current Lincoln Park Cemetery as a sign of respect for those who are buried there and their families who made the choice for burial in that location with a certain set of expectations about religious practice," said Rabbi Alan Flam, chair of the Board of Rabbis.

However, the board, which has no official authority over any cemetery, agreed that an interfaith cemetery that was physically separated from Lincoln Park would be possible, with certain conditions:

*Funerals in this section would be restricted to Sunday through Friday (morning) and prohibited on the Sabbath and other Jewish holidays.

*Funerals of non-Jews may not take place in the Jewish chapel at Lincoln Park.

*A non-Jewish funeral home may arrange for the burial of non-Jews in this (interfaith) section.

*Tahara (ritual washing and preparation of the body after death) is optional for Jews buried in this section.

*Rabbis may officiate at burials of Jews in the interfaith section. Rabbis may officiate at burials of non-Jews in this section. Non-Jewish clergy may also officiate at the burial of non-Jews at the request of the family.

Separate sections in Jewish cemeteries are not uncommon - it has been done at other cemeteries, including Sharon Memorial Park in Massachusetts and Sinai Memorial Park in Warwick. At Sinai, strictly traditional Jewish burials are done inside the Sinai territory, while intermarried couples can be buried in Pawtuxet Memorial Park, the larger organization that cares for the grounds. All of their religious requirements are handled exclusively by Temple Sinai, the former owners of the cemetery.

Mary Douglas, owner of Pawtuxet, said that people either adhere by the rules or go elsewhere, although one couple chose to be buried at Sinai near each other - one on the Jewish side and one on the non-denominational side.

Temple Beth-El in Providence is the largest congregation in the state, and owns its own Reform cemetery for use by its members. The cemetery allows intermarried couples who are members to be buried together, and has since the 1980s. "A family that lives together should be able to be buried together," said Ruby Shalansky, executive director of Beth-El.

Michael Smith, owner of Shalom Memorial Chapel in Cranston, agrees. "If a person and their spouse want to be buried in a Jewish cemetery, I think something should be afforded to them," he said.

Smith said that he tells families up front that he only completes Jewish burials, and that while he gets a few inquiries about interfaith burials, in most cases people seem to know the rules. People who utilize his services are not required to provide any proof of their Jewish heritage. "You can't ask people for an ID and ask if they are Jewish. There is a certain level of trust that goes along with this."

Resources:
www.interfaithfamily.com/article/issue127/joi.phtml
www.jewfaq.org/glossary.htm