Beth Am Temple provides burial solution for interfaith couples

Losing a loved one can be an emotional and expensive burden. In Judaism, a body must be interred as soon as practical, which means that funeral planning begins immediately. Imagine having to make unexpected funeral arrangements at the last minute. Many decisions have to be made, one of which is a cemetery plot. This can be made more complex when one of the family members is not Jewish.

Interfaith marriage is a trend that has seen an increase in American Jewish life, but after “death do us part,” most couples wonder if they will be able to stay together in death as they did in life.

The policies of many Jewish cemeteries prohibit the burial of non-Jews, even if that person was an active supporter of the synagogue they belonged to with their spouse. These rules are typically followed with the Conservative and Orthodox movements. However, there are some Reform cemeteries that will bury non-Jews next to their immediate Jewish relatives provided that the service remains “Jewish” and the gravestones do not contain non-Jewish religious symbols.

Here in Rockland County, Beth Am Temple in Pearl River is the only Jewish cemetery with a non-sectarian section. It offers two burial sections to keep loved ones together – a Jewish section for Jewish individuals and their families, as well as a non-sectarian section, where couples and families of different faiths can be buried together when at least one of the family members is Jewish.

“We believe families should stay together,” says Rabbi Daniel Pernick of Beth Am Temple in Pearl River, New York. “When it comes to the grieving of our congregation members, we want to focus on their losses, not on logistics.” “We do have some minor restrictions,” Pernick adds, “but when young interfaith couples join our synagogue, we want to make sure that if and when a loss does occur, there will not be any surprises at a time when they would be most vulnerable.”

Beth Am Temple’s 500-plot cemetery is located at Temple Israel Memorial Park at 75 Van Wyck Road, Blauvelt, NY. To schedule a visit, contact the Beth Am Temple office at (845) 735-5858 or memorial@bethamtemple.org. To learn more, visit www.bethamtemple.org.