History of the Hebrew Charitable Burial Ground -- by Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts (JCAM)

'Forgotten Children' Now Remembered
in Rededication of Historic Malden Cemetery

Hundreds Attend Ceremony – Skies Clear After Ceremony

A sizeable crowd attended a ceremony Sunday, September 22 on Lebanon Street, Malden – closed for the occasion – to rededicate the Hebrew Charitable Burial Ground, the second oldest Jewish cemetery in Massachusetts.

The Malden Mayor and the State Treasurer along with other civic and religious leaders from the community spoke and lead prayers in honor of the restoration of the cemetery that had become undignified. It was restored to dignity and honors the nearly 1,200 children buried there who succumbed in the early 1900s to illnesses we treat routinely today.

Attendees flood the HCBG in bright sunshine that broke out after speeches and prayers under gray skies on Sunday morning, Sept. 22. The ceremonies officially rededicated the second-oldest Jewish cemetery in Massachusetts.

The JCAM campaign to raise funds for the restoration of the Hebrew Charitable Burial Ground continues and honors the more than 1,200 children under 20 years old who are buried there by placing memorial bricks bearing their name, age, and date of death. Please sponsor a brick – for $118 each – to restore and dignify the memory of these many long-forgotten souls interred mostly without any marker or headstone.

You can sponsor a brick by donating online here or by mail (download form here).

You may select a name to honor from the list online, or have JCAM pick an honoree. This is an historic opportunity to symbolically mark and honor the name of a Jewish child – a great mitzvah, appropriate for the holiday season.

Please be generous and donate today.

JCAM hopes to raise $100,000 to continue the restoration and memorial.

New!

Schedule a "Cemeteries Are for the Living" Virtual Tour
Directly from the Classroom

Tour from the classroom!

JCAM is now offering virtual "Cemeteries Are for the Living" educational tours to synagogue youth and adult education groups directly from the classroom. While this is especially useful during the winter months, when cemetery visitation is difficult, it can be done anytime!

Learn how Jewish cemeteries were established and by whom, what makes a Jewish cemetery Jewish, why we bury sacred materials, and much more. (Physical tours will continue to take place during spring and fall.)

Here's what one teacher had to say about their "virtual" cemetery tour experience: "Thank you for your wonderful and very informative presentation to our fifth grade. You did a professional and age appropriate presentation which we all thoroughly enjoyed. We learned a lot of very important aspects of Jewish tradition. You succeeded in de-mystifying a subject that can be intimidating for young students."

If you would like more information about all of our educational programs, please contact Lisa Berenson at 617-244-6509 or email: lisaberenson@jcam.org.

Links

Photo Gallery – Cemetery Educational Tours

Jewish Cemetery Symbols Explained

Learn more about JCAM's 100+ cemeteries

2013 Book Burial
Held May 22 in West Roxbury

JCAM's 2013 Book Burial was held at the King Solomon Memorial Park cemetery in West Roxbury on May 22nd. Click here for the full story, photos and guidelines for future needs.

Boston Jewish Immigration History Project

The oldest Jewish cemetery in Massachusetts lies on a quiet street in East Boston. Members of Boston's first Jewish congregation established the Ohabei Shalom Cemetery in 1844. In 1903, they added its handsome chapel, a Victorian treasure that has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The JCAM Charitable Foundation has mounted a campaign to preserve the Chapel, to document and tell the story of Jewish immigration in greater Boston and to provide a valuable resource to the new immigrant communities who today settle in these same neighborhoods.

Chapel Rendering

The refurbished Chapel will feature a permanent exhibit on Boston's Jewish immigration developed from the text, images and video presented in The Promised Land, a program of the tales of Jewish immigrants presented recently in the Boston area.

For more information regarding the Boston Jewish Immigration History Project, please call JCAM at 617-244-6509 and see the section here on this Web site.