It wasn’t the kind of morning you’d expect to find a group of teenagers outside, much less hanging out at an old cemetery. Unseasonably cold temperatures, a partially obscured sun and harsh winds caused even the most bundled of the intrepid group to shiver.
Despite these conditions, 22 Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community High School seniors gathered at Hebrew Friendship Cemetery in East Baltimore on Nov. 10 on a mission to photograph and document every headstone there.
Their project to create an online data base for local Jewish cemeteries is a collaborative effort of Beth Tfiloh and two agencies of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore – Jewish Volunteer Connection and the Jewish Cemetery Association of Greater Baltimore.
Founded in 1999 by cemetery industry professionals, the association manages 14 Jewish final resting places in the greater Baltimore metropolitan area, including those owned or formerly owned by dwindling or defunct congregations and fraternal orders.
Some of these cemeteries date back to the 19th century, and their aging records are often hard to access and vulnerable to damage.
Steve Venick, the association’s president, said his group decided to collect and store information about Baltimore’s Jewish cemeteries online, using the CIMS Cloud system, which would provide viewing access for family members and the general public. After an anonymous donor offered to fund the CIMS software and several cameras to photograph the headstones, Venick worked with JVC and Beth Tfiloh to bring the students to Hebrew Friendship Cemetery.
“I am aware that the seniors take [an annual class] trip to Israel and Poland,” said Venick, a Beth Tfiloh congregant and president of the Fram Monument Co. in Pikesville. “One of the things they do is visit the cemeteries there, in Warsaw and other cities. We thought this was a good tie-in to have them take pictures for us.”
Working in groups of twos and threes, the students dispersed to different sections of the 13-acre cemetery, taking photos of headstones and checking off the completed sections on their maps. The most challenging part of the project may have been finding their respective sections, since there are approximately 2,000 graves at Hebrew Friendship Cemetery and the divisions are poorly marked.
But within 90 minutes, most of the students had finished their work, recording more than 75 percent of the cemetery’s plots. Besides the students, Beth Tfiloh faculty and cemetery association members, Linda A. Hurwitz, chair of the board of The Associated, and Nancy Hackerman of the Hackerman Foundation were in attendance.
“It’s an amazing project for the students,” said Dr. Renee Koplon, high school principal at Beth Tfiloh. “It’s great for them to be doing this service for the Baltimore Jewish community, besides the fact that so many students’ families have history in Baltimore.”
Located at 3600 E. Baltimore St., the Hebrew Friendship Cemetery is an important historic landmark, say organizers of the project. Several notable Baltimore names can be seen among the headstones, including international philanthropists Harry and Jeanette Weinberg, who purchased space for 70 plots near the cemetery’s entrance.
Many of the stones in the cemetery tell a story, and on occasion a small grave comes into view, with a very short time span etched on its headstone.
“This cemetery is almost like a prelude of Baltimore Jewish history,” said Cherie Brownstein, youth director at Beth Tfiloh. “It’s the foundation of our community, the leaders of the community who established where we live. All the underpinnings of what we take for granted in the community started with these people.”
For the students, the project was a solemn but meaningful endeavor.
“When Mr. Venick came to our school, he and [Beth Tfiloh director of education Zipora Schorr] explained that the biggest mitzvah is to help those who cannot repay you,” said Jacob T., referring to the Jewish concept of chesed shel emes, charity of true loving kindness. “We also get to bring comfort to the families [of the departed].”
“I don’t know these people, but I feel connected,” said Rebecca G. “These last names are so familiar — they were around in the 1800s, but they’re still around now. I know people with these names and wonder if maybe their relatives are here.”
For some students, the experience was even more visceral. “I saw three gravestones of kids younger than me,” said one student. “One that lived eight days, and one that was 13. My brother’s 6, so that made me feel pretty terrible.”
Venick and association board member Dr. Kenneth Friedman say they hope this project will continue to evolve and strengthen the connection between the community and its cemeteries.
As they work on gathering records and photos for the association’s 13 other cemeteries and continue to clean and maintain those cemeteries, they are hopeful that local synagogues might also become active in this work.
“In my mind, if a synagogue owns a cemetery, it might be a good program in the future,” said Friedman.
For now, the Beth Tfiloh students’ work has already achieved something meaningful. As Hurwitz told the students, “You are making a big difference, not only now but for years to come.”
The cemetery association plans to engage students from other local schools to assist with the records at other cemeteries, and several Beth Tfiloh students have volunteered to help upload the Hebrew Friendship information. By the end of the year, the database should be live, with the work of one cold November day making a difference for years to come.
For information, email dr.kenneth.friedman@gmail.com or call 410-486-8666.
Hanni R. Werner is a Baltimore-based freelance writer.
Photos by Steve Ruark
For Beth Tfiloh senior Ada Key, earning the Eagle Scout rank is about giving back and paving the way for girls in scouting.
At Knit & Nosh, one of several VolunTeams run by the Macks Jewish Connection Network, young adults get together to knit scarves and hats for neighbors experiencing housing insecurity.
With his new book "The AfterWork," Akchin explores finding fulfilment and meaning after concluding one's professional career.
At the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), a growing number of students are discovering that higher education can be far more affordable than they imagined -- and in some cases, completely tuition-free.