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The
Craig Fahle
Show
Unpolished natural stone markers b lend in with the forest-like setting.
cadet
101.9 fm
can give you that in
10 varieties. We have
shrouds and access to
cemeteries that don't
require a vault. But if
what someone wants
is all of these things
and to be buried in a
David Techner
Green Burial Council-
certified cemetery,
we, and anyone else can provide them
with a burial site at Hebrew Memorial
Gardens."
Last year, the Kaufman Chapel
became the first U.S. funeral home to
install a geothermal heating and cooling
system that draws heat from within the
earth and pulls it back in for cooling,
reducing electricity use by 30 to 60 per-
cent."Geothermal is as green as it gets'
Techner said.
Ready For Serenity
"When people come into Hebrew
Memorial Chapel and say they are look-
ing for a cemetery with trees. We can
now ask them 'What kind?' and 'How
many?'" Dube said.
Plot locations are already marked off
and set for graves to be purchased at
Hebrew Memorial Gardens, with a small
portion prepared to be used right away.
"The first area is called the Founders
Circle and is at the back of a pathway
that goes off in all different directions','
Dube said.
Cost of burial in the new section is
$3,900, the same as in the rest of Beth
Moses Cemetery. "But it is divided differ-
ently:' Dube said. "In the other sections,
the graves are $1,300, the digging is
$1,300 and perpetual care is $1,300.
In the new section, the digging is $1,700
and the graves are $2,200, which includes
the flowers that will be placed into the
grave and that will continue to grow. "
Hebrew Memorial Chapel, the oldest
Jewish funeral home in Michigan, was
founded in 1916 as the Detroit Jewish
Free Burial Association to assist those
who could not afford to pay for burial
needs. Through the years they became
a full-service funeral home, while
remaining the only nonprofit Jewish
funeral home in the state, continuing
to support the underprivileged.
Jewish And Green
From an environmentally protective
standpoint, "this is a fabulous idea; said
Betsy Winkelman of the Bloomfield
Township-based Michigan Coalition on
the Environment and Jewish Life, which
works to bring together the teachings
of Judaism with lessons of the natural
world. "They should be commended for
taking the lead in this area:'
The cost for cemetery certification by
GBC is $500 for the first year and $295
annually; cost for a funeral home to be
certified as a provider is $295 each year.
"It is truly satisfying that we are the
nation's first Jewish certified green
nature preserve cemetery where an
added dimension of serenity and peace
can be found for loved ones, surrounded
by nature in a forest-like setting;'
said Rabbi Boruch E. Levin, Hebrew
Memorial's executive director.-
"I am confident that Hebrew
Memorial Gardens will be embraced
by Metro Detroit Jewish community
members. I believe this close connection
to nature will bring a unique aspect of
comfort and meaning to burials and
visits:"
He said visitors to the site-have felt "a
beautiful and calming effect."
"Hebrew Memorial Gardens, in its
endeavors, will preserve thousands of
trees, reduce the carbon footprint and,
at the same time, provide a comfort-
ing and serene setting for mourners:'
Dube said.
"Its commitment to the Jewish com-
munity and the environment is amaz-
ing. The certification process by the
Green Burial Council speaks to this
commitment."
Sehee said,"We are trying to show
Americans that they shouldn't have to
choose between green and a traditional
Jewish burial. A person's last act really
can make a difference." 0
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July 5 2012
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