Cemeteries
There are 209 Jewish cemeteries in Massachusetts. JCAM currently owns and operates 105 of these Jewish cemeteries. As a service, we are providing maps and directions to all 209 Jewish cemeteries – available online here, at this Web site:
- Online maps and directions:
- Cemetery Hours
- Prayers for use when visiting cemeteries
- "Suggested Order of Prayers for an Unveiling" – download booklet (PDF)
- Cemeteries Guidbook and History (2010-2012) – download booklet (PDF)
What Makes A Jewish Cemetery Jewish?
- A Jewish cemetery has physical boundaries that set the cemetery off from its surroundings, making it holy for Jews.
- A Jewish cemetery is considered consecrated ground where Jewish burial practices and customs are observed.
- A Jewish cemetery is owned by the Jewish community whose rules and regulations are governed by a duly authorized Board of Directors for Jewish cemetery purposes.
- Only Jewish symbols are permitted on a Jewish cemetery.
- Only Jewish clergy or lay people may officiate at a burial service or any other religious service on a Jewish cemetery.
- Perpetual care funds are managed by and for the care of the Jewish cemetery.
- The cemetery is closed on Shabbat and all major Jewish holidays.
Just as synagogues preserve Jewish continuity in life, so do Jewish cemeteries preserve Jewish continuity in the afterlife.