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27-672: The Jewish Cemetery , also known as the Gemiluth Chassed Cemetery , is a historic Jewish cemetery in Port Gibson, Mississippi . The cemetery has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since July 22, 1979. The cemetery was established in 1871 by Louis Kiefer, Mayer Bock, and Moses Kaufman. Members of the Jewish Cemetery of Port Gibson Association paid an annual fee of US$ 2.50. They subsequently established

54-405: 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 , '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

81-424: A deep ditch, the so-called Lubomirski Ramparts , created in 1777 to stop the spread of plague and as a tax measure. It was not until 1873 that both Jewish and Catholic communities were allowed to build a bridge across the ditch to facilitate access to both cemeteries. In 1860 and 1863 the cemetery was extended again and in 1869 reached its present form. However, it began to overcrowd and in 1885 all burials financed by

108-407: A dense forest in the post-war period, is filled with monuments dedicated to notable personas such as politicians, spiritual leaders, inventors, economists and others. Many of the markers are simple, others are elaborately carved and richly decorated. Large mausoleums appear in styles ranging from Egyptian revival to Art Deco . In 1806 Warsaw's Jewish Commune petitioned the government to establish

135-448: A new Jewish community. A Jewish cemetery is generally purchased and supported with communal funds. Placing small 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 in Jewish religion it is perceived specifically as a Jewish custom. Showing proper respect for

162-436: A new cemetery for Jewish inhabitants of Warsaw. The Bródno Jewish Cemetery , in existence since 1769, was nearly at capacity and the chevra kadisha sought a new burial ground. The lot chosen was located right outside of the city limits in the borough of Wola , next to a new Catholic Powązki Cemetery established in 1790. The petition was accepted and in the following year the cemetery was established. The earliest headstone

189-748: A trust fund held by the Southern Mississippi Bank of Port Gibson. It was restored in 1986. Other Jewish cemeteries in Mississippi that are listed in the National Register include Beth Israel Cemetery in Meridian; and the Anshe Chesed Cemetery in Vicksburg. The Natchez City Cemetery includes Jewish Hill, a section dedicated to Jewish burials; and other Jewish cemeteries in Mississippi are

216-645: Is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe and in the world. Located on Warsaw's Okopowa Street and abutting the Christian Powązki Cemetery , the Jewish necropolis was established in 1806 and occupies 33 hectares (83 acres) of land. The cemetery contains over 250,000 marked graves, as well as mass graves of victims of the Warsaw Ghetto . Although the cemetery was closed down during World War II , after

243-560: Is responsible for that section of the cemetery's care and upkeep. Early Jewish cemeteries were located outside of the city. In the Diaspora , it is traditional to bury the dead with the feet in the direction of Jerusalem . Some findings showed that the dead would be buried with a handful of soil from the Holy Land. The tombstones usually have inscriptions in Hebrew and the regional language. During

270-545: Is to document every Jewish burial site in the world. The Lo Tishkach European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative was established in 2006 as a joint project of the Conference of European Rabbis and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany . It aims to guarantee the effective and lasting preservation of Jewish cemeteries and mass graves throughout the European continent. The ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative

297-628: The Beth Israel Cemetery in Jackson, and the Hebrew Union Cemetery in Greenville. Jewish cemetery 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

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324-872: The Chatam Sofer Memorial (part of the Old Jewish Cemetery in Bratislava ). The Jewish cemetery of Siret is considered one of the oldest cemeteries in Eastern Europe , its foundation is dated around 1500. Founded in 1832, the Jewish Cemetery of Coro , in Venezuela is the oldest Jewish cemetery in continuous use in the Americas . The mission of the International Jewish Cemetery Project

351-575: The Nazi Germany regime, Jewish cemeteries all over Europe were destroyed and desecrated; for this reason, some cemeteries have therefore also become Holocaust memorials, such as the cemetery in the Warsaw Ghetto . The largest Jewish cemeteries of Europe can be found in Budapest , Łódź , Prague , Warsaw , Vienna and Berlin . Other Jewish cemeteries in Europe include the Jewish Cemetery in Khotyn and

378-639: The Warsaw Uprising of 1944, and other mass murders. Those burials included both Jews and non-Jews. Following the Ghetto Uprising, on May 15, 1943 the Germans detonated all buildings in the area of the cemetery, including the synagogue and burial houses. Only a small well survives to this day. Further damage was done to the cemetery during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, when the front line passed directly through

405-532: The 1930s the entire cemetery was surrounded with a high wall, and in 1939 construction started on a Mausoleum of Jews Fighting for Polish Independence. Works were stopped by the outbreak of World War II and the German occupation of Poland . During World War II the cemetery was partly demolished. German forces used it for mass executions and the burial of victims of Warsaw Ghetto , the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ,

432-487: The Jewish community (i.e. of the poor) were directed to the Bródno Jewish Cemetery . In 1877 several notable Jewish families of Warsaw financed a new late Neo-Classical building by Adolf Schimmelpfennig housing a synagogue and two burial houses (one for men and one for women). The second floor was reserved for rabbi's flat. As the cemetery was used by all groups of Warsaw's Jewry, conflicts arose over control of

459-453: The cemetery and various burial-related issues. In 1913 it was agreed to split it onto four parts: one for Orthodox Jews, one for Reform Jews, one for children, and one for military and state burials. After World War I the cemetery again became overcrowded. Subsequently, a mound or earthwork terrace was erected over the quarter previously reserved for children to allow for more burials. Between 1918 and 1936 fourteen such mounds were created. In

486-469: The cemetery gate, Rabbi Szlomo Zalman Lipszyc , the first Chief Rabbi of Warsaw, ruled that all future burials should be done the same way, to avoid causing embarrassment to the first one buried in this manner. During the first decades of its existence the new Okopowa Street cemetery was used mostly by the higher strata of Jewish society, with poorer Jews interred in the Bródno Jewish Cemetery in

513-410: The cemetery. After the war the cemetery was reopened. The Communist authorities of Poland planned a road directly through the middle of the cemetery. The plans were never carried out because of efforts of an American diplomat Alfred Brainard who responded to a call for help from Jewish organizations In the 1990s the neglected cemetery started to be renovated for the first time since the 1930s, mostly by

540-414: 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

567-518: The easternmost borough of Bródno , on the right bank of the Vistula . Despite that the cemetery quickly became overcrowded and already in 1824 it had to be expanded. Around that time the Tsarist authorities took over the administration of the cemetery from the chevra kadisha and by 1850 established a separate funeral administration. The first on-site funeral home was established in 1828, but already in 1831 it

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594-463: The graves in the Okopowa Street cemetery have their backs to the cemetery gate. The tradition of placing graves facing the cemetery gate stems from the belief that at the future resurrection of the dead , the dead will rise up and be able to leave the cemetery without having to turn around. However, in 1819, when one community member was accidentally buried with his head, rather than his feet, facing

621-445: The pleasures or needs of the living, such as eating, drinking or smoking, are forbidden in the presence of the dead. 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, as well laws concerning proper conduct in

648-604: The war it was reopened and a small portion of it remains active, serving Warsaw's existing Jewish population. As the necropolis was established to replace many smaller cemeteries closer to the city centre, it was designed to serve all Jewish communities of Warsaw, regardless of their affiliation. Hence, it is subdivided into several districts dubbed quarters ( kwatery ), historically reserved for various groups. Among them are three Orthodox (for men, women and one for holy scriptures), Reform Judaism , children, military and Warsaw Ghetto Uprising victims. The cemetery, which has become

675-552: Was dated December 6, 1806 and belonged to certain Nachum son of Nachum of Siemiatycze , but it did not survive to our times. The first woman interred there was certain Elka Junghoff, daughter of Jehuda Leib Mulrat of Kalisz . Her tombstone is dated November 26, 1804, but the date is most likely wrong. Hence the oldest surviving headstone belongs to Sara, daughter of Eliezer (died September 8, 1807). Unlike other cemeteries in Europe, all

702-465: Was destroyed by Russian Army in the course of the November Uprising . A new building was erected the following year and further expanded in 1854. In the meantime the necropolis was extended twice: in 1840 and 1848. Around that time it became the main Jewish cemetery of Warsaw, for rich and poor alike. Historically the cemetery was separated from the city centre and the quarter inhabited by Jews by

729-579: Was established in 2015 as a German-based nonprofit. It received the initial grant of 1 million euros from German government in 2015 In November 2018 the EJSF received a European Union grant for a mass survey project of Jewish burial sites using drones. In December 2019 further funding was granted for a new 2019-2021 project "Protecting the Jewish cemeteries of Europe: Continuation of the mapping process, stakeholders’ involvement and awareness raising". Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery The Warsaw Jewish Cemetery

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