Cemetery
Among the many services our Congregation offers our members and the wider Jewish community is our cemetery. This site, Section J5 of Park Lawn Cemetery in Bennington, is probably the loveliest, most peaceful Jewish cemetery in the U.S., with stunning views overlooking the Pownal Valley to the south of town.
History
In 1953, members of our Congregation arranged with Park Lawn Cemetery to take charge of the sale of plots in Section J5 to assure our members burial among co-religionists. Section J5 is separated from the rest of Park Lawn by a perimeter hedge. Originally, a separate Cemetery Board of Trustees was established, but that was folded into a Committee of the Beth El Board of Trustees during the 1990's. The Cemetery Endowment Fund set up in 1953 for Perpetual Care is maintained as a separate Cemetery Endowment Fund to be used only for cemetery purposes within the larger Beth El budget.
In 2013 -14, thanks to donations from current and past congregation members and families, a beautiful stone entrance walkway and “meditation garden,” or spiritual space, was added to enhance the peace and beauty of the cemetery for families and loved ones.
Policies
The policies of the cemetery have evolved as our Congregation has evolved. In 1953, our Congregation was Orthodox, as presumably were most of the families. During the tenure of Rabbi Howard Cohen, when our Congregation became Reconstructionist, questions arose about Jewish identity and who could or should be buried in our cemetery.
The Board of Trustees followed Rabbi Cohen's recommendation to both honor the presumed expectations of the original Orthodox families and also to be open and welcoming to new definitions of Jewishness and Congregation membership. This resulted in separating the cemetery into Halachic and Non-Halachic sections. There's no defined wall or fence or boundary between these sections; they are on the right and left sides of the entrance.
Our current practice is to offer plots in the Halachic Section to individuals who self-identify as Jewish by maternal descent and who prefer burial in that section, which is where the oldest, presumably more Orthodox, burials had taken place. Plots in the Non-Halachic Section are offered to individuals who prefer that location or who self-identify as Jewish by paternal descent, by informal identity or who are not Jewish.
Purchasing
If you are interested in buying a plot, whether you’re a Congregation Member or a Non-Member, please contact our office. We are fortunate to have many gravesites available, so we sell plots to Non-Members, as well as Members. The office will put you in touch with a member of the Cemetery Committee who will assist with and arrange the purchase.