Ceremony rededicates repaired cemetery

By Sarah Morrison

July 4, 2008

The Poile Zedek Cemetery vandalism in January came as a shock to the Jewish community. In a shared cemetery on Joyce Kilmer Avenue in New Brunswick, Congregation Etz Ahaim of Highland Park and Congregation Poile Zedek of New Brunswick faced over 500 toppled or broken gravestones with an original estimated repair cost of $1 million.

The act of vandalism, reminiscent of the darkest times for the Jewish people, brought more than just the immediate community and the affected congregations together. On June 29, more than 200 people, including representatives from major media outlets, came to rededicate the newly repaired cemetery and pay their respects to the disrespected dead.

Representatives from the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County and from both congregations joined in a ceremony to assure their lost loved ones -- and the community at large -- that their resting places are finally repaired and secured.

Lee Livingston, President of the Jewish Federation of Middlesex County, spoke about the destruction of the cemetery.

"What a difference," he noted, comparing the re-erected cemetery to the mess that he walked through just five months before. "I congratulate the committee that helped rebuild this cemetery for bringing this horrible incident to a conclusion."

The federation, which raised more than $100,000 for the cemetery restoration fund, received money and empathy from all walks of life and all corners of the United States.

"Sympathy didn't only come from the Jewish community," Livingston said. "All faiths contributed out of their own good will. A collection in Houston, Tex., donated $10,000. These donors illustrate our values, and I wish that no one face what I saw back in January."

Rabbi David Bassous of Congregation Etz Ahaim spoke about his initial reactions to the vandalism and how his congregation coped with the tragedy.

"It was a tremendous shock when we saw the damage," Bassous said. "Our beloveds' rest was disturbed. Their souls and their survivors needed comfort. This incident reminded our congregation of darker times in Jewish history, like the Spanish Inquisition [of 1492] and the Holocaust."

Rabbi Bassous then explained the sacred place that the dead have in Judaism.

"The Torah commands the Jewish people to exhibit sensitivity to everyone," Bassous continued, "especially sensitivity toward the dead. There is no greater kindness because it is a kindness that cannot be returned. The idea of a tombstone has been an uniquely Jewish concept for 2,000 years for four reasons: to protect the grave from animals, to mark where the body is buried, to make sure the body is not developed over, and most important, to remind us of the qualities of our ancestors."

Bassous then gave a brief history of the congregation. Etz Ahaim was founded by immigrants from Solonika, Greece, who arrived in America in the 1920s. Bassous urged the attendees of the rededication ceremony to not forget the qualities of the congregations'ancestors, mainly the way they cherished their heritage and never forget where they came from, which gave them an ability to get through hard times with a smile.

Rabbi Abraham Mykoff of Congregation Poile Zedek began his speech with psalms of comfort.

"We gathered here today to rededicate where the physical remains of our loved ones rest," Rabbi Mykoff said. "The sages ask a question of Psalm 79: Why is this passage of mourning for the Temple called a song? Why is a more accurate term of ‘lamentation' not used? It is because the Jewish nation is thankful that God took out his wrath on replaceable wood and stone. Similarly, we need to be thankful that this act of vandalism involved no loss of life."

Mykoff also quoted a commentary on this week's Torah portion of Chukat. In this portion, the commandment to care for the dead is called "the essence of Torah."

"Why is the Torah called a source of life if the essence of it is taking care of the dead?" Mykoff asked. "A lesson we can take from this is understanding and appreciating the beauty of the greatest gift from God: life. This is a time to reflect on the blessings that God gives us."

Among those blessings was the outpouring of help from everyone moved by the tragedy. One particularly moving form of assistance came from Moshe Heideman and Kivi Neuman from Edison. The two boys organized a "bowl-a-thon" for the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth, where Kivi was head of the Chessed committee ("Elizabeth yeshiva bowls to ‘spare' families," The Jewish State, June 6). Mykoff spoke about the poetic justice of teenagers helping to rectify a new cemetery to replace the one that other teenagers destroyed.

"I read about [the cemetery damage] in the newspaper," Kivi said. "Since I was in charge of the Chessed Committee in Student Government, I figured that I was in the position to do something about it. Teenagers destroyed the place; it was only right that teenagers should rebuild it."

Moshe, who raised one-third of the more than $12,000 that the "bowl-a-thon" raised, mentioned that over 140 of the 175-strong student body came to Jersey Lanes in Elizabeth to bowl for the cemetery's repair fund.

"There was an even representation from all grades who came out for this wonderful act of chesed," Moshe said.

Other acts of kindness included a discounted rate from a company that deals exclusively with erecting overturned gravestones. With these acts of kindness, the total cost of damages was brought down to an under $200,000 estimate.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Mykoff remained positive and thankful that there was no loss of anything irreplaceable -- like life.

"The outpouring of help was very inspiring," Mykoff said. "Sometimes from the bad, good can be extracted. One family who came to their loved ones' gravesite discovered 16 new relatives! Two stones from 1908 and 1920 were found in a back corner of the cemetery and matched to their foundations. The financial and emotional support from all religions and nationalities was most heartwarming. The Jewish Federation's contributions and efforts have been extremely helpful, and I am thankful for we have all come to this stage where we can move forward."

While talking with Mykoff, a woman walked over and thanked the rabbi for all his efforts and wanted to know more about the Houston man who raised all the money. The woman flew into New Jersey from Houston for her sister's birthday. She read in a local newspaper that the cemetery was being rededicated that day and was completely in awe -- both her parents are buried in the Poile Zedek cemetery.

"See?" Rabbi Mykoff turned around and told The Jewish State. "It's events like these that inevitably have the hand of God in them."

As for the monuments that were shattered to pieces, half are being buried and half are being turned into a memorial to mark not where the gravestones are resting in pieces, but to represent the loved ones who are finally at peace with this tragedy.