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January 28, 2011
New burial options available
Winnipeg establishes the first Reform chevra kadisha in the city.
REBECA KUROPATWA
This year, Winnipeg’s Temple Shalom Synagogue established its very own chevra kadisha (burial society). According to the synagogue’s president, Ruth Livingston, the move is in response to requests for tahara (ritual washing) that would meet the needs of the Reform community.
”At present, those being buried at our cemetery aren’t eligible for tahara through the community-owned Chesed Shel Eme[s],” she said. “We really appreciated the training from Rena Boroditsky at … Chesed in the process of establishing our [own] chevra [kadisha].”
The community-owned Chesed Shel Emes cemetery could not accommodate intermarried couples or care for bodies buried at the interdenominational Chapel Lawn cemetery and funeral home. Temple Shalom already has a dedicated area at Chapel Lawn, and conducts funeral services at the synagogue or at the cemetery.
Beit Chaim Mikdash Shalom, the synagogue’s Jewish burial option at Chapel Lawn, was established during the tenure of Rabbi Michael Levenson.
Levenson, who passed away in October 2008 in Jerusalem, held a master’s degree in English literature and was well versed in Chinese and holistic medicine. Before coming to Winnipeg, he had worked with the dean of Canadian Reform rabbis, Gunter Plaut, at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, and at Reform synagogues in New York and Chicago.
As of January 1999, Levenson began performing both same-sex and mixed marriages at Temple Shalom. At the time, about 30 percent of the synagogue’s members were in interfaith marriages and 20 percent were married to non-Jewish spouses who had converted. At the end of 2002, Levenson retired. Today, the synagogue is led by Rabbi Karen Soria, who has continued with Levenson’s non-traditional lifecycle practices.
According to Livingston, who also teaches watercolor painting and Hebrew reading at Temple Shalom, the Jewish burial area at Chapel Lawn was established “in response to the inequity in the Jewish community at the time that prevented our interfaith families from being able to be buried together. There was a need for us to be able to provide Jewish burial for those members in interfaith marriages who wanted to access Jewish traditions with the option of being buried together.
“Jewish funerals are conducted in our cemetery by Rabbi Karen Soria, Cantor Len Udow or, if they are not available, by a number of others in the Jewish community,” said Livingston.
“It’s not in keeping with what goes on in most of North America,” said Temple Shalom’s Judith Huebner. “In most cities, if a Jewish family wants someone prepared for burial, the majority of Jewish funeral homes will do it and they don’t pay attention to what happens to the body once it leaves their home.”
“Because of the perceived need for this service and judging by the response we’ve had so far by our membership and non-members, it’s definitely a welcome option in the Jewish community,” added Livingston. “There are also some Jews who want to be cremated and ... our [Reform] tradition allows that option.”
Roads on two sides and hedges on the other two sides separate the synagogue’s space at Chapel Lawn from the non-Jewish area. Currently, plots cost $4,000 for non-members and $2,000 for the synagogue’s members.
Temple Shalom holds an information session every spring with Soria, which includes a tour of the facility. For more information, contact Temple Shalom, at 1-204-453-1625 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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