Jewish cemetery

A Jewish cemetery (Hebrew: בית עלמין beit almin or בית קברות‎ beit kvarot) is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including beit kevarot (house of sepulchers), beit almin (eternal home) or beit olam [haba], (house of afterlife), the beit chayyim (house of the living) and beit shalom (house of peace).

The land of the cemetery is considered holy and a special consecration ceremony takes place upon its inauguration. According to Jewish tradition, Jewish burial grounds are sacred sites and must remain undisturbed in perpetuity. Establishing a cemetery is one of the first priorities for a new Jewish community. A Jewish cemetery is generally purchased and supported with communal funds.^[1] Placing stones on graves is a Jewish tradition equivalent to bringing flowers or wreaths to graves. Flowers, spices, and twigs have sometimes been used, but the stone is preferred because among the Jewish religion it is perceived specifically as a Jewish custom.^[2]

Showing proper respect for the dead (kevod ha-met) is intrinsic to Jewish law. The connection between the soul and the human body after death is an essential aspect of Jewish belief in the eternity of the soul. Thus, disinterring the dead, deriving benefit from a corpse or grave, or acting in any way that may be perceived as "ridiculing the helpless" (l’oeg l’rash), such as making derogatory remarks or joking, but also partaking in the pleasures or needs of the living, such as eating, drinking or smoking, are forbidden in the presence of the dead.^[3]

Showing proper respect for the dead also requires a prompt burial, the waiver of certain rabbinic restrictions on Shabbat and religious holidays to ensure proper care of the dead, the ritual cleaning (tahara) and dressing of the body in shrouds (tachrichim) before burial, and laws concerning proper conduct in a cemetery.

To ensure that the requirements for Jewish burial are met and that each member of the community is afforded a proper burial, Jewish communities establish burial societies known as the Chevra Kadisha (The Holy Society) to provide these services free of charge. In larger Jewish communities, cemeteries are sometimes subdivided into sections according to the chevra kadisha that uses and is responsible for that section of the cemetery's care and upkeep.