I was in Rhode Island a short time ago, and I saw something unusual, and I hope someone can explain to me the purpose of it. I would see the standard cemeteries behind chain-link fences, and within them there were several special Jewish sections (marked with a sign) with knee-high chainlink fences separating them from the (presumably) non-Jewish parts of the cemetery. I was wondering why the Jewish burial ground was so obviously demarcated; it wasn’t fenced for fear of vandalism, since the “fence” could be easily stepped over. Is it so a Christian priest doesn’t inadvertently bless in the name of Jesus Christ a Jewish grave (most of the Jewish headstones had a Star of David, but not all)? Is it just to mark off a separate section, with no practical purpose? If it was a attractive fence, I’d be leaning towards that explanation, but chain-link fences just scream “practical purpose” to me. And is this fencing off of Jewish graves a common practice in mixed-religion cemeteries?
…And if I was really on the ball, I wouldn’t have posted this on Yom Kippur. 
Oops. May have to bump this later.
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The reason is most likely seperation. Jews wanna be with Jews even when they’re dead. Rhode Island is pretty small, you know, so I doubt they have room for a seperate cemetary for each and every religion without spilling over into Massachusetts. I think it’s merely a way to adhere to a religious beliefs when lacking enough space.
Why chain link? I dunno. To appear tough? Us Jews gotta defend our turf.
Alternate theory: depending on how big the section was, it could have been that the entire cemetary was Jewish and those inside the section commited suicide. Those that kill themselves cannot be buried inside a cemetary according to Jewish Law.
Is it a rule that Jews and Christians need to be buried in separate sections, or just custom? I swear I’ve seen headstones with crosses and headstones with Stars of David not far from each other in other cemeteries, without apparent special sections. I know Catholics (and other Christians?) have consecrated ground for cemeteries, so perhaps the fence just makes it easier for the priest to tell God “OK, bless this area for Catholics, and leave alone those spots for the Jews.” I suppose the Jews can do the same for their plots. I’ve just never run across separate clearly marked sections for different religions in the same cemetery, but you’re probably right about the space premium in Rhode Island.
Naw, chain link is wimpy. Maybe a stone wall with shards of glass imbedded in the top!
So, you fence off an area inside the cemetery so you can bury people in it who aren’t suppoosed to be buried in a cemetery? Isn’t that like fencing in a bull by building a fence around yourself and defining the place where you’re standing as “outside the fence” and the rest of the world is defined as “inside the fence”? 
But anyhow, the whole cemetery couldn’t have been Jewish; it was all crosses except for the Jewish fenced areas.
I wouldn’t sweat the Yom Kippur faux pas. It’s a genuine, good question. I for one don’t take offense where none is intended…
And, Happy New Year to the Tribals among us. :)
Cartooniverse
p.s. OKAY HOW DO I DO THE HASIDIC EMOTICON??? LOVE IT
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becomes
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There’s a fence around a set of Christians in Mount Auburn cemetery in Cambridge, Mass. The plot of land was bought by the Scots Charitable Society and they buried so many people there they later had to buy a “new” plot. So it was just a way to show where the plot of a certain group was. Maybe the colonial synagogues did the same thing and put the fence up themselves, and the sign is long gone. Of course, I have no idea if there was any law segregating folks, but living in New England for eighteen years and visiting tons of historical sites, I think I would have come across it.
I grew up a block from the famous Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx and Augustus P. Belmont, Frank Woolworth, Joseph Pulitzer, and Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochran), who I think were all some flavor of Christian or Catholic, are all mixed in with plenty of famous Jewish folks, like Robert Moses and the Straus family.
However, there are also denominational cemeteries of course; you drive through a few gigantic ones in Brooklyn that are almost identical except for the names and symbols on the stones.
Carolyn
When SaxFace and I did our Tour of Dead Celebrities, we swung by the Kensico Cemetary in Valhalla, NY. (Eternal home of Ayn Rand, Tommy Dorsey, Lou Gehrig and Sergei Rachmaninoff). The amazingly detailed brochure they give out to tourists mentions their Jewish section known as Sharon Gardens.
My guess is that it has to do with two things. 1. Up till about 1960 there still was significant anti-semitism expressed by many Christian organizations and by some of there members. My guess is that it was a good way for the cemetery owners to avoid questions about intermingling. In Europe there was strict segregation and Jews were not allowed to bury their dead with other deceased.
- My parents (both Yids) are buried in a cemetary in the wester Chicago suburbs that has a Jewish area. My guess is that there are Jews buried in the larger, general population area also. But the Jewish area is set aside because those plots were purchased by a Jewish burial society. This allows decendents to more easily find the deceased and also it continues a sense of community after death and through the generations - people want to live and be buried with those of there own kind, not matter if it makes sense in a mult-cultural society.
The actual reason, of course, is that the Christians wouldn’t let the Jews into their cemetary, it was “restricted.” [/sarcasm]
Proper burial has been considered a very important community responsibility in Judaism for a long, long time. To ensure that the dead are buried properly, each Jewish community established its own cemetary. Rabbinic rulings dating as far back as the late 13th and early 14th centuries was that, if a Jewish community could not have its own cemetary, but could purchase ground in a non-Jewish cemetary, the area should be set apart by a fence or some other barrier.
This is basically to ensure that all the rules and traditions of Judaism are met – how far apart the graves can be, the need for a pathway between the graves, livestock should not be permitted to graze in the cemetary, etc. The Jewish rules surrounding the establishment and care of a cemetary were different from the Christian practices in many areas.
Also, of course, having a separate Jewish cemetary was a convenient way to ensure that there wasn’t a huge cross or statue of a saint or angel on the grave next door.