Graveyard Class: The Oldest Jewish Cemetery in the South!

On Saturday, September 28 our class took a tour of the KKBE Jewish cemetery! Saturday was the mandatory hurricane makeup day which is why we had class in the first place. Unlike the other times we have visited graveyards, we had two lovely tour guides named Anita Moise Rosenberg and Randi Serrins. Both of them were very knowledgable about not only the cemetery but also about the people buried there.

History

The Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim was founded in 1670 and is located on Hassel St. It is the second oldest synagogue building the US as well as the oldest in continuous use. The synagogue's cemetery is located on Coming St. and is claimed to be the oldest surviving Jewish burial ground in the South.

Traditions

When I entered the cemetery there was a sink at the entrance which stood out to me. According to Serrins, "it is a tradition to wash your hands after visiting a cemetery". Out of pure curiosity, I further researched this practice and came to realize that washing your hands after visiting a cemetery. Turns out there are a lot of different theories of where this tradition came from. Some say that its a way to get rid of any negative spirits while others say its a reminder of purity and that you are serving God. Another tradition that is very apparent in the cemetery are the stones placed on top of headstones. According to Rosenburg, "the stones are a symbol of remembrance and respect." She further explained that I was a tradition when a Jewish person died, they would be buried and then covered in stones to prevent animals from picking at the body. One thing that stood out was the symbols as well as the Hebrew inscriptions. Some examples of these are shown in the pictures below.