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February 18, 2005/Adar 1 9 5765, Volume 57, No. 25
North Valley Jewish cemetery opens
STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL
Staff Writer
A new north Phoenix cemetery is the first in the Valley to serve exclusively both affiliated and non-affiliated Jews.
Pinnacle Cemeteries, LLC, opened Mount Sinai cemetery to the public on Feb. 10.
The just-completed facility encompasses 22 acres in Phoenix and is designed and built in accordance with Jewish law and tradition. The cemetery satisfies the proper burial requirements for all denominations of the Jewish faith according to Amanda Blum, public relations representative for the cemetery.
Mount Sinai was originally scheduled to open in 2004, but was delayed to enable access to utilities and to resolve other issues, Blum said.
The idea for the cemetery started when two men, standing next to each other at a Jewish funeral, began discussing the absence of some Jewish burial traditions in many modern-day burials.
Those men are Ray Perlman and Gerald Webner.
"This vision began more than two decades ago," said Perlman, co-founder of the cemetery and owner of Sinai Mortuary. "But the Jewish community was not large enough to support such a cemetery back then. The timing is now right for Mount Sinai."
Webner, a real estate investor, spent several years searching for the right location, taking into consideration growth of the Valley and its Jewish community.
The Valley has other cemeteries for Jewish burials, including Beth El Memorial Park, Temple Beth Israel Memorial Cemetery Cemetery and the Garden of Shalom at Phoenix Memorial Park. Green Acres Cemetery has sections for Temple Emanuel of Tempe, Temple Solel and Har Zion Congregation.
While those cemeteries are dedicated to certain synagogues or have only a parcel for Jewish burials, Mount Sinai is open solely to the Jewish community, including the unaffiliated.
Set amid the mountains and desert terrain along Pinnacle Peak Road and 68th Street in Phoenix, the cemetery includes an outdoor covered pavilion that seats 100 people, situated so that mourners can pray facing east, toward Jerusalem. The beams of the pavilion come together at the top to form a Star of David.
Each lawn crypt and burial vault is preinstalled, allowing for burials to take place within 24 hours. The crypts are double-depth, so that couples can be buried together.
"Mount Sinai has been developed based on research, research and more research," said David Dassow, sales manager for the cemetery. "We've consulted more than a dozen rabbis and have considered all Jewish affiliations in order to meet the needs of every Jewish person in the Valley."
"This cemetery offers a vastness and serenity that reflects the true Mount Sinai," said Sandy Rife, development coordinator. "The name suits the setting."
"Jews are people of the desert," Blum said. "This is a desert cemetery."
Other features include hand-washing stations and walkways - all conforming to Jewish tradition. Sections serve all denominations of Judaism.
For those families wishing to create a memorial for their deceased loved ones, benches and fountains, as well as trees and shrubs, may be dedicated.
The cemetery also offers preplanning services, including gravesite selection and sales.
"Preplanning is the greatest act of love," Dassow said. "It offers families peace of mind that their loved one's wishes will be carried out and relieves a family of having to make major decisions while they are in mourning."
A grand-opening ceremony and dedication is tentatively scheduled for March 20. The invitation-only event will include speakers such as Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and a number of Valley rabbis.
Cemetery principals anticipate the cemetery will serve the Jewish community for years to come.
"The Jewish community in Arizona has grown so quickly (and) we now have generations who want to be here from cradle to grave," Dassow said. "A cemetery that has the capacity to service the needs of this community for at least a century is vital."
The cemetery is located at 24210 N. 68th St., Phoenix. Call 480-585-6060.
Contact the writer here
What makes a cemetery Jewish?
In order for a cemetery to be declared Jewish it must:
- Be consecrated ground, designated and blessed for Jewish burial
- Stipulate that the area is exclusively for Jews;
- If in a cemetery with other faiths, be separated from those areas;
- Maintain all burial rights;
- Contain space or walkways for mourners so as to not step on the gravesites;
- Include ground crypts. Jewish law dictates the deceased be buried in the earth;
- Create stations to wash hands. It is a custom to wash hands when leaving a cemetery, because you have been in the presence of the dead;
- Bury the deceased so they are facing east to west - facing toward Jerusalem.
Sources: International Association of Jewish genealogical Societies-Cemetery Project; www.jdcc.org; Pinnacle Cemeteries LLC.
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