Chesed Shel Emet The Hebrew Free Burial Association The uniqueness of HFBA 1. No other comparable Jewish charity agency in the US operate both funeral home and cemeteries for the indigent HFBA s mission 1. The Hebrew Free Burial Association devotes its resources to performing chesed shel emet (the ultimate act of loving kindness). It is the only agency in the New York City metropolitan area dedicated to assuring that every Jew, regardless of financial means or religious affiliation, receives a dignified, traditional Jewish burial. History ties in with history of Jews in NYC/America 1. First Jews who come to NY in 1654 from Recife, Brazil are indigent 2. 2 million Jews came to US between 1881 1914, 3. In NYC, the Jewish population in had grown from 80,000 in 1870 s to 1.4 million in 1915 4. 85% of Jews who came to US came thru NYC. 5. Lansmenschaften formed. Provided for members at the end of their lives. 6. Funeral Directors didn t play significant role until 1910 But what if you were too poor? Little is known about Barnett Freedman, a Jew from Europe, who organized the Chebra Agudas Achim Chesed Shel Emeth the Society of the Brotherhood of True Charity in 1888 along with eight other men. Nina Freedman, his great granddaughter, speculates that he owned a men s clothing store, which he passed down to her grandfather. We don t think he was a wealthy man, she says. He was sensitive to the poverty of the recent Jewish immigrants and established a free burial society because he believed that no Jew should be alone in death. What is certain is that Freedman and his cofounders Messrs. Michilitsky, Bergman, Silva and five others took the name of their burial society from the passage in Genesis in which Jacob says to Joseph, [D]o kindness and truth with me please do not bury me in Egypt. For I will lie down with my fathers and you shall transport me out of Egypt and bury me in their tomb. V asiti imadi chesed v emet... In death poor Jews everyone from the devout to the impious ran the risk of losing their connection to Jewish communal life. By 1910, many of the Jews who resided in Manhattan s 2,500 six story slum walk ups could not afford the cost of a funeral or grave. Thousands each year ran the risk of burial on Hart Island, a potter s field in the
easternmost part of the Bronx, where, the tenants received neither graveside ceremony nor marker, buried in mass graves. In an era before the Holocaust, and before the establishment of Israel, Freedman had retained enough of his faith to believe in the distinctness of the Jewish nation and in the right of every Jew, regardless of social condition, to a dignified Jewish burial among his own people. His commitment to his project, known since 1965 as the Hebrew Free Burial Association, was so strong that three of his great granddaughters continue to provide us philanthropic support through their private foundation. HFBA was like borderless landsmenschaft for the poor. Early in our history, they were victims of disease epidemics, occupationally hazardous conditions, poor medical care, lack of proper sanitary conditions and high infant and mother mortality rates. In its annual report from 1900, HFBA's directors wrote, "What little they may have had quickly vanished for doctor's services and medicines, and even their belongings were pawned by them to obtain the wherewithal to save their loved one from the grim monster death." Early burials, from 1888 1892 were in other cemeteries in NYC area. In 1892 HFBA purchased Silver Lake Cemetery, 6 acres on Victory Blvd. Staten Island was rural farmland at the time. Silver Lake Cemetery was filled by 1909 and HFBA purchased Mt. Richmond Cemetery 25 acres on Staten Island, to the southeast of Silver Lake. Burials in Manhattan ceased by law in 1852 continued in Queens, Brooklyn. HFBA has done over 60,000 burials to date. In the early years of the organization's existence, the majority of burials were of small children. In 1911, HFBA provided burials for 23 young victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Bodies were shipped from Manila during the Spanish American War and at least one soldier's body arrived from New Guinea in the South Pacific during World War II. Large immigrant groups, such as Holocaust survivors and refugees from the former Soviet Union have also been prominently represented, including well known Russian poets and artists. Those who have needed HFBA's help over time have ranged from the parents of Eddie Cantor and Clara Bow, celebrities in their times, Mel Brooks' grandparents, and inmates from Riker's Island and Sing Sing prisons.
HFBA Time Line 1900 Within the first 12 years of its existence, HFBA has buried 6,275 indigent Jews. One year we did 1261 burials. 1910 the organization's twelfth annual report lists 1,500 donors. Most individual donations were for very small amounts, ranging from 10 to 87 cents, reflecting the poverty of the Jewish community. Nonetheless it was clear from records of fundraising efforts in synagogues that the Jewish community embraced HFBA's cause. 1914 ½ burials were children and babies 1916 HFBA grows to an organization of 4,000 members, most of whom contributed $5 or less annually. The annual meeting attracted 500 participants and received coverage in The New York Times. HFBA was able to proudly declare that since its inception, no Jew had been buried in Potter's Field. The organization at beginning didn t have to do outreach and most likely buried members among others. Subsequently HFBA adapted with the times. 1945 HFBA changes the official record keeping and the recording of the committee minutes from Yiddish to English. 1957 HFBA moves its office uptown from the Lower East Side to 1170 Broadway, following the path of Jewish demographics. 1965 At the organization's annual meeting, the official name, Chebra Agudas Achim Chesed Shel Emeth, adds "The Hebrew Free Burial Association," reflecting the Americanization of the membership and clients. 1981 1982 HFBA receives significant grants from the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. 1987 HFBA inaugurates its Second Century Campaign and launches a major outreach effort to agencies assisting indigent Jews as well as a fundraising drive to reach those who can provide financial support. Liaisons with agencies assisting the poor, ill and homeless are established and brochures, a newsletter (later named the Chesed) and a public relations campaign are initiated to publicize the unique and important work of HFBA. 1990 UJA Federation launches Operation Exodus to help Jews leave the Soviet Union.
Over the next decade, more than 40,000 Jews per year come to the United States and burials at HFBA rise to record levels in response to immigration. 1995 The number of free burials grows to more than 400 a year due to the large immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union and makes HFBA the largest, most active free burial agency outside of Israel. Current organization 1. Mission 122 years later the same but organization is more complex in its assessment, objectives and goals Statistics Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty finds 250,000 poor Jews in 5 boroughs in 2008. Burials 1. Burials are path to relationship 2. Complexity of follow up work for records and finances 3. We provide referrals for other communities across the country and other faith groups in NYC 4. Management of 4 cemeteries 1. Commitment to bury with dignity and maintain cemeteries w/ dignity Outreach for cases Outreach and education 1. Cemetery Clean Up Project. Schools and other organizations volunteer nothing more than their time to clear debris, mostly from the Silver Lake property. 2. Attend chesed/mitzvah fairs 3. Speak at schools and synagogues Fundraising 1. Donations comprise ½ of operating budget Operate 24/7 1. 9 employees Procedure for decedents with no relatives/no assets
1. In NYC if there is no will, no relatives, and/or no assets, the case goes to the borough Public Administrator who decides the burial plans supposedly based on what the decedent would have wished for. 2. Apply for HRA burial benefits Range of cases 1/3 are buried w/ no one attending the funeral except for our rabbi 2. Between 30 40% of cases are Russian A. Our newsletter, Chesed, has an entire section written in Russian to make sure that this community feels embraced in life as well as in death. B. Other relevant brochures and cards are also in Russian Case examples Challenges 20,000 unmarked graves in Mt. Richmond by the late 1980 s 1. HFBA initiated the Leave Your Mark campaign to address this 2. Over 15,000 graves marked since 1991 A. Donors contribute $150 to cover the cost of a single stone marker. Ageing cemeteries: 1. Silver Lake failing retaining wall 2. Storm damage 3. Silver Lake challenges in general Since its inception, HFBA has been supported by individuals and whatever funds the Jewish community had to offer. In HFBA still relies on the entire Jewish community's commitment to chesed shel emet to fulfill its obligation to our less fortunate brothers and sisters, not just to provide them with dignified burials but to maintain their resting places in our two cemeteries with dignity.