Rabbi Elchonon Zohn is a national leader in the Chevra Kadisha organization. He is the head of the Queens Chevra Kadisha, which covers Manhattan, the Bronx, and much of Florida.
Rabbi Yair Hoffman: Everyone is talking about your new project to help curb the cremation rate. You have a new cemetery in Florida that you are launching to bring prices down. Let’s talk about cremation. How pervasive is it?
Rabbi Elchonon Zohn: The cremation rate is 50 percent nationally. Among Jews across the country it is 40 percent and it is constantly growing. In Dallas and Houston, it is at 50 percent. In California, it is at 70 percent. In New York, it is less, at about 30 percent. New York kind of reduces the national average.
RYH: Where are we getting this data from?
REZ: This is what funeral directors are telling me, those that are servicing the Jewish community. Imagine what is happening among Jews who are not using “Jewish” funeral homes.
RYH: What is fueling this growth (no pun intended)?
REZ: It is mainly pricing. Cremations are only $799 or even less. Funerals and burials are $15,000 to $20,000. In the liberal section, the ecological factors are bringing it up.
RYH: Wait. Isn’t it an established fact that burial is better for the ozone layer and the environment than cremation?
REZ: It is, but the liberal elements claim that with the fancy coffins, the mausoleums, the chemicals, it is better to cremate.
RYH: But this does not apply to burials performed according to Jewish law. They are much better for the environment than other ones and also than cremation. Isn’t that true?
REZ: Very true. And a burial at our new cemetery, run by a nonprofit 501(c)3, is only $3,600.
RYH: Have you considered commissioning a study to get exact figures and trends so that your efforts against cremation can be better directed?
REZ: Yes, but right now we do not have the funding for that. We are trying to put out fires every day. Also you can see the growth from the fact that most so-called “Jewish” funeral homes are advertising that they offer cremation. They wouldn’t be advertising it if it wasn’t so popular.
RYH: What is the situation in Canada? How is the cremation rate there?
REZ: Toronto it is way below us in terms of cremation. No one even talks about it.
RYH: How far along are you in the cemetery project?
REZ: It is three weeks away.
RYH: Where is it located?
REZ: It is between Boca Raton and West Palm Beach, about an hour and ten minutes from Miami.
RYH: What else is special about it?
REZ: It is one of two green burial cemeteries in Florida — no concrete, no mausoleums, and no chemicals. This will help in the mission of providing a low-cost alternative to cremation.
RYH: What is the cemetery called?
REZ: The South Florida Jewish Cemetery. They are actually two 5-acre cemeteries. The nonprofit is called Cong. Chevra Kadisha Cemetery.
RYH: Who is going to run it? Also, as we know, in order to establish a cemetery, it needs a whole ceremony. Who is being dedicating it?
REZ: Rabbi Yaakov Lyons is doing both. I will be there as well, of course.
We will have a building that will not be a chapel but a place for taharah to be done. We have another program, an outreach program, called “Enduring Loss,” based on a belief in the afterlife. In addition, all rabbis whom we recommend will visit the families three times within six months. That is the goal.
Additional resources:
National Association of Chevra Kadisha
The Hebrew Free Burial Society
The Jewish Free Loan
This article originally appeared in the 5 Towns Jewish Times https://www.5tjt.com/rabbi-elchonon-zohn-on-new-green-burial/
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(8) Jonathan Temple, June 2, 2021 8:10 PM
Shameful remark
Who are the "liberal elements" that claim fancy coffins with cremation is better? Huh? I found the remark shameful and uncalled for. I'm 69 and trying to prearrange my burial. The costs surrounding a burial are extraordinarily high and complicated. So much so that I started considering cremation. I don't have much and don't want to throw away thousands of my children's resources to be wasted on the a burial/funeral as your would like. I will be making my decision shortly. Is it was up to me, I'd go the pure natural way and be buried without an expensive coffin. Jon
(7) Anonymous, May 3, 2021 1:44 AM
Is there a Hebrew Free Burial Assoc in Houston
Is there anything in Houston Tx that will assist indigent Jews to beburied in a Jewish cemetary?
(6) Jamie Sarche, December 30, 2018 8:35 AM
there are options
Even though a Jewish funeral is simple, between the funeral home, cemetery, and headstone, the costs add up. People sometimes look for cheaper options which might lead them to think cremation is a good choice, even though it’s against Jewish tradition and often leaves their loved ones without a way to grieve.
However, it’s easy to honor tradition, give our family the ritual they deserve and that paves the way for their bereavement, allows them to fulfill the mitzvah of burying their loved one, and gives them a place to memorialize your life.
By making plans long before they are needed, you can make decisions from a point of strength and come up with a plan that suits your budget. The funeral can be paid for over 3, 5, even 10 years.
In most states, the funds are held in an insurance product provided by the funeral home. Though they are not paid until the services are performed, many funeral homes guarantee today’s prices for services long in the future, allowing you to avoid years, even decades, of inflation.
And there is a life insurance component that covers the balance if, god-forbid, you die while making payments.
Talk to people in your community about which funeral home they trust. Then meet with a preneed counselor and put a plan in place. You will give your family a tremendous gift and yourself so much peace of mind. My clients almost always lean back in their chairs, take a deep breath and say, “that was so much easier than I thought.”
Jamie Sarche
Director of Prearranged Funeral Planning
(5) Anonymous, December 26, 2018 6:08 AM
funerals
In England included in your synagogue fee is burial insurance
(4) Anonymous, December 25, 2018 9:28 PM
free kosher Jewish burial
For those who cannot afford a traditional kosher Jewish burial for themselves or other indigent Jews, there is a truly awesome organization in NY called the Hebrew Free Burial Association. They will bury the Jewish poor free of charge with dignity and respect. It makes no difference if the Jewish person was religious or not. They treat everyone with true compassion. Their rabbi, Rabbi Plaffker, is totally amazing.Respect. Their contact info:
Hebrew Free Burial Association
125 Maiden Lane Unit 5B
New York, NY 10038
Phone: (212) 239-1662
Fax: (212) 239-1981
E-mail: info@hebrewfreeburial.org
(3) Janet, December 25, 2018 6:58 PM
Statistics
Are the Dallas, Houston, and Calif stats for Jews or are they figures for the general public?
(2) zak, December 25, 2018 6:36 PM
It is only candles that burn
As our Creator said: I did not make you to become one of them. As we honor the body that was given to us on loan to us in this time. We are buried as are Torah’s are when they have served their purpose. No embalming but a simple pine box, the body wrapped in gown and tallit without tzitzit. A simple burial. What wealth is there in this time, but faith that calls from the world to come. Don’t burn as some gentiles do. For the world was revealed by Torah to show faith, that other’s would behold the examples of transformation.
(1) Mark, December 25, 2018 4:21 PM
I like reading Aish