Each year since 2006 we have presented Cemetery Educational tours http://www.jcam.org/Pages/Foundation/education.php to the Jewish Community to hundreds of participants. And each year the interest in this unique Jewish learning experience widens. I am happy to report that we are now booking for our Winter & Spring 2015 season. We can bring a cemetery educational tour directly to your classroom during winter, when physical cemetery visitation is difficult. Take advantage of our “virtual” Cemeteries Are for the Living tours. Call for more information. Our interactive slide presentation is the exact tour given as our physical tour. Visit our website at www.jcam.org for photos of group participants.
We are also booking for our Spring 2015 season. JCAM's Cemeteries Are for the Living tours are an important module to understanding the Jewish lifecycle. Each year synagogue youth, parents and adult education groups schedule cemetery educational tours with us and it’s not too late to book a tour for our spring 2014 season!
Our tours are jammed packed with kids and adults who are eager to learn about Jewish cemeteries and the role Jewish cemeteries played in forming the rich history of Jewish Boston.
Our “Cemeteries Are For The Living” educational program continues to be a great success and cemetery education tours have become an annual activity with many synagogue and community groups. Take advantage of this unique educational experience for youth groups and adults. Education and community program directors can call Lisa Berenson, Director of Educational Programming to schedule a tour or to design one specific to your group's needs. Our 30 years of experience in caring, restoring and ensuring the continuity of Jewish cemeteries in Massachusetts, we are uniquely qualified to bring this dimension into Jewish education.
Also, keep in mind, we can bring you a cemetery educational tour directly to your classroom during winter, when cemetery visitation is difficult. Take advantage of our “Virtual” Cemeteries Are for the Living tour. Call for more information.
Our educational programs include:
- Cemeteries Are for the Living educational tours at Baker Street (West Roxbury), Ohabei Shalom Cemetery (East Boston) and Woburn Jewish Cemeteries (Woburn)
- Visit to our community Genizah (Baker St.)
- Metrowest Jewish Community – We offer cemetery tours at the historic Framingham/Natick Jewish Cemetery. Over half of our tours are from synagogues in the Metrowest area! Our Metrowest tours are partially funded through a grant awarded to us from CJP’s Metrowest Jewish Community Fund.
- Jewish War Veterans Flag Day Project in November
- Yom HaShoah Commemoration in spring
- Virtual Classroom Tours – JCAM offers virtual "Cemeteries Are for the Living" educational tours to synagogue youth and adult education groups directly from the classroom. While this is especially useful during the winter months, when cemetery visitation is difficult, it can be done anytime!
Learn how Jewish cemeteries were established and by whom, what makes a Jewish cemetery Jewish, why we bury sacred materials, and much more.
Here's what you will learn at a cemetery educational tour:
- Learn about Jewish cemetery symbols and their meanings,
- Why we leave visitation stones,
- The origins and history of Massachusetts’ Jewish cemeteries.
- Find out some of the interesting “stories behind the stones” of Boston Jewish notables.
- Learn Jewish burial customs.
- Learn why we bury books, Torah scrolls and other Jewish artifacts and more by touring local JCAM cemeteries in a friendly and relaxed manner.
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We feel it is important to connect Jewish young people with their past through cemetery education. We can help the next generation honor, remember, and connect to the once vibrant Jewish communities their spirited ancestors pioneered through a “Cemeteries Are For The Living” education tour.
You may want to be thinking about your calendar year ahead–tour dates fill up quickly. Call Lisa Berenson at 617-244-6509 to schedule a program time and date.
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