The Jewish Burial Association of Madison, a nonprofit, set out to meet the burial needs of the Madison Jewish community with their acquisition of 1272 new Jewish burial plots in the Beit Olamim Jewish section of Sunset Memory Gardens.
These plots will serve the Jewish community for the next 50 years, according to the association.
“Our broader community came together to support a Jewish cemetery that meets the needs of the various streams and beliefs in our Jewish community including those who are not synagogue-affiliated and their family members,” said James Stein, president of Jewish Burial Association of Madison, in a release.
The Irwin A. and Robert D. Goodman Foundation provided a loan to Jewish Burial Association of Madison to purchase all the plots. The Foundation also made tzedakah to the amount of $183,000 to landscape an entry road to Beit Olamim, according to the release. Stein expressed his gratitude to the Foundation for the support.
“We were excited to help Jewish Burial Association of Madison make this purchase and to implement its landscaping plan that will transform Beit Olamim into a beautiful, serene, and spiritual environment,” said E.G. Schramka, executive director of the Foundation. “We know how much this means to the Madison Jewish community.”
Beit Olamim was established out of necessity in 2009, to provide more Jewish burial plots, according to the release.
“Jewish laws surrounding death and burial are among the most serious commandments. They are the way we honor the departed for eternity and are the last good deed we do for someone before they leave this world,” Stein said. “Where a person is buried is a sacred place where we can connect to the soul of the departed.”
Beit Olamim is located in Sunset Memory Gardens cemetery, 7302 Mineral Point Road.