One of the first concerns of a Jewish community is to establish Jewish cemeteries and the infrastructure to allow for Jewish ritual burials. There are four Jewish cemeteries in Greater Portland/South Portland, and on this trail, you can visit all of them.
Although Jewish religious practices now vary in some respects, there are strong commonalities. First is the concept that death is a return of the body and the soul to the earth, where life starts. (In Genesis 3:19, God says to Adam, “Earth you are, and to earth you will return”). Jews also believe that the period between death and burial is a time when the soul does not have a place to rest, and that the body should not be left alone in this time. Traditionally, a Jewish community will have a Chevra Kadishah (Holy Society) of dedicated men and women who ensure that Jews are given a proper Jewish burial. The Chevra will conduct the taharah (ritual cleansing of the body), dress the deceased in the tachrichim (burial shrouds), practice shemira (the customary vigil kept over the body until it is buried), and otherwise ensure that the burial is conducted in accordance with Jewish tradition. After the burial (which, whenever possible, happens within 24 hours of the person’s passing) comes shiva—the traditional week-long mourning period for close relatives, followed by additional obligatory bereavement rituals throughout the first year. Jews continue to remember and honor the dead by visiting their gravesites, reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish, and lighting a candle on the yahrzeit (anniversary of death).
Nowadays, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Jews offer some flexibility from the traditional practices; shiva periods have been shortened, all genders are allowed to recite the Mourner’s Kaddish, non-Jewish partners can be buried in Jewish cemeteries, and the deceased’s wishes to donate organs or be cremated are being honored.
Caring for loved ones by renovating and securing the sacred places where they are buried is basic to Judaism—tikkun olam (repairing the world) in its most literal form. In this spirit, Documenting Maine Jewry (DMJ) was started in 2009 as a project to map Mount Sinai cemetery and make burial records available for those who would like to visit graves in person, or virtually. Since then, DMJ has contributed to the updating of all four of the Jewish cemeteries in this Trail, and most of the dozen additional Jewish cemeteries in Maine. These records are now available online at: mainejews.org