Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center Cemetery – Guidelines and Information

Guidelines and Information

We Are Here to Help You

At Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, we hope we can help you honor your loved ones. Our Cemetery is a special burial place for our members and their family members. Please feel free to contact the office with any questions about the following information.

Jewish Funeral Customs

We observe Jewish funeral customs in our sanctuary. Open caskets and/or flowers are not permitted. It is a Jewish tradition to give Tzedakah (charity) in memory of loved ones. We are encouraged to take any money that would be spent on flowers and give it to an  organization that embodies the values of the person we are remembering.

Jewish law prohibits cremation and encourages a simple burial. GEN  3:19 “For dust you are and to dust you shall return.” If you have  concerns about burial and are considering a cremation, you are welcome to discuss these concerns with the Rabbi.

If cremation is chosen, one can have a funeral service at MVHC led by the Rabbi without the presence of the cremains in the sanctuary. If the family chooses to bury the cremains, they can be buried in a special section of the Hebrew Center Cemetery without the presence of the Rabbi. The Rabbi may officiate at the gravesite once the cremains are buried.

Preparation

There is only one funeral home on Martha’s Vineyard, Chapman, Cole and Gleason. For those wishing a Hevra Kadisha (Jewish burial society) to prepare the body for burial according to Jewish traditions, ask the office for names of Jewish funeral homes off Island or for the phone number of an off Island Hevra Kadisha that can travel to the Island and work on the premises of the Island funeral  home.

Funeral services led by the Rabbi may be held for members at the Hebrew Center or at graveside, at the Hebrew Cemetery or another cemetery on the Island. If Rabbi Broitman is away, she can designate a qualified person to assist you.

Gravesites

Location of the gravesite is determined by the Cemetery Committee at the time of need.

A surviving spouse or family member who is a current member at MVHC may request a gravesite adjacent to a deceased member by notifying the Cemetery Committee in writing within six months of the interment of the deceased member. Plantings other than in pots may not be placed at gravesites.

Interment Conditions

These must be supervised by a licensed local funeral director. Interments must take place between sunrise and sunset, not on Shabbat or holidays, as per Jewish tradition and laws. Religious services must be within the spirit of Jewish tradition.

Green Burials

We allow Green Burials also referred to as Traditional Jewish Burials.

Some of the guidelines include:

  • No embalming or cosmetology is allowed
  • If a casket is used, it should be a plain pine box; shrouds must be biodegradable
  • Cut flowers are not allowed
  • A biodegradable trundle may be used instead of a casket
  • Cement liners are not used in a green burial

Markers and Monuments

Immediately following interment, a temporary marker of non perishable material must be installed by the funeral director. A permanent grave-marker must be placed within one (1) year. The maximum height of a gravestone, including pedestal, will be three (3) feet, and must be approved by the Cemetery Committee before installation.

Membership Requirements

All members are eligible for burial at the Hebrew Center Cemetery, if they meet the following membership requirements. Non-members may be buried in the Hebrew Cemetery at the discretion of the Cemetery Committee with an additional fee.

  • Dues must be current
  • Family membership shall include one or two adults, married or life partners, one of whom must be Jewish, and may include minor and/or dependent children
  • On the death of the Jewish spouse the non-Jewish spouse may remain as a Member and be buried at the Hebrew Cemetery as a benefit of membership
  • If the non-Jewish spouse chooses NOT to retain membership, they may still be buried next to their spouse, but would have to pay a non-member fee.
  • Ordinarily, one must be a member of the Hebrew Center for at least  three years to be buried in the Hebrew Cemetery. (Exceptions are sometimes made at the discretion of the Cemetery Committee.)

Expense

For a member, the right of interment fee is currently $2,000, minus a 10% reduction for each year of membership. After ten (10) years of membership there is no fee for burial. Mandatory endowed care for the burial (“perpetual care”) is a one-time fee of $1,000.

The burial fee for Non-Members is $4,000, and the mandatory perpetual care fee is $2,000. All costs and fees are per burial, rather than for a specific plot.