JCF Hosts Shamos Burial at New Camden Cemetery

Despite the remnant rains from Hurricane Isaias soaking South Jersey all day, a group of community members braved the elements and came together to host a Shamos Burial on Sunday, October 11 at the New Camden Cemetery.

The Jewish Community Foundation, Inc., which provides oversight to the two Jewish sections in the cemetery, and the JCF's New Camden Cemetery Committee chaired by Sid Goldberg organized the gathering.

The Jewish sections of the New Camden Cemetery, which is located at the intersection of Ferry Ave. and Mt. Ephraim Ave. in Camden, are believed to be the oldest Jewish burial ground throughout Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. Several Shamos Burials have been held there over the years, with the last such burial at the cemetery having occurred in October 2023.

We thank the following organizations for their involvement in collecting and dropping off holy items such as prayer books and tefillin to be buried:

• Congregation Sons of Israel, which held a large-scale collection as well as a successful book exchange where hundreds of books were shared so they would not have to be buried at this time

• Adath Emanu-El

• Politz Day School

• Temple Har Zion

• Temple Sinai of Cinnaminson

In all, several dozen community members collaborated to drop off an estimated 100 boxes of books and materials to be buried.

Special thanks go to the generous donors who contributed to this burial to help cover the costs of digging. If you would like to learn more about the cemetery or make a donation toward its upkeep, please click here.

Additional thanks go to Rabbi Michael Davies of Congregation Sons of Israel for saying a few words during the Shamos Burial about why we bury these materials.

The accompanying photos were provided by Sid Goldberg and the JCF's Mike Staff.

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