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4225 N 14th Street
Lincoln, Nebraska 68521
Phone (402) 540-4133
Contact

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Who We Are

Mission & History

Our mission is simple. We want to make our community a better place through education and the enlisting of our citizens to bring services to those in need. We accomplish our mission through our core values.

Background

  • Significance of Gravestones: Gravestones serve to honor the deceased, mark burial places, and act as material symbols of personal identities, offering a way to study cultural traditions and individual self-identification within a group.
  • Cemetery Purpose: Mount Carmel Cemetery (originally Chevra B'nai Jehuda Cemetery) serves as the burial ground for Jews in the Lincoln, Nebraska area.
  • Affiliation and Access: While historically associated with the Tifereth Israel Synagogue, the cemetery is run by a separate legal association and is open to any member of the Jewish faith. 
  • Inventory: Based on an August 1985 survey, the cemetery had a total inventory of 857 grave markers.

History

  • Early Jewish Presence: The section traces the history of Jewish settlement from the first North American Jewish cemetery in 1656 to the movement of Jewish settlers into Nebraska and Lincoln during the mid-to-late 19th century.
  • Congregation Formation: In the 1880s, two distinct congregations formed in Lincoln: the Reform Congregation B'nai Jeshurun (founded 1884) and the Orthodox/Conservative Tifereth Israel Congregation (founded 1885).
  • Cemetery Origins: The cemetery land was purchased and transferred to the Chevra B'nai Jehuda Cemetery Association in 1886. The earliest surviving gravestone belongs to a Mrs. Levy (died January 1888), though historical newspaper records suggest the first burial was the infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Goldwater on January 5, 1888 (whose grave has not yet been located).
  • Cemetery Boundaries and Rules: The cemetery is a highly defined, enclosed Jewish space bordered by trees, shrubs, an iron fence, and a gated entrance featuring the Star of David. Historically, burials were strictly limited to Jewish members of the association and performed according to Jewish rites. However, a new partitioned section will be created inside the grounds to allow for the burial of non-Jewish family members.

Newspapers

  • Historical Clipping: This section presents a transcribed 1888 newspaper notice from the Lincoln Evening Call confirming the burial of the infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Goldwater in the "Bnai Jehuda" cemetery.

Interesting Facts

  • Visual Impressions: A study of the cemetery revealed a crowded layout separated by a central road, a high prevalence of red or pink granite monuments, and a dense concentration of Hebrew characters and Judaic motifs.
  • Marker Statistics: Of the 537 gravestones representing 534 people at the time of the study, 63% were larger, upright monuments and 37% were flat markers. Additionally, 47% of the memorials were made of red or pink granite.
  • Hebrew Inscriptions and Judaic Art: Local monument companies use templates (typically drafted and proofread by rabbis for accuracy) to engrave Hebrew letters and Jewish symbols. About 72% of the gravestones contain Hebrew inscriptions or Judaic symbols, and 91% of the people buried are associated with these elements.
  • Inscription Languages: The language breakdown of the gravestones is 65.9% bilingual (English and Hebrew), 32.7% English only, 1% Hebrew only, 0.2% bilingual (English and Yiddish), and 0.2% uninscribed.
  • Traditional Information: Orthodox tradition dictates that inscriptions include the deceased's Hebrew name, their father's name, the Jewish calendar date of death, priestly status (for males), and formulaic Hebrew abbreviations like "Here lies" and "May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life". Many graves also note if a person died on the Sabbath or a religious holiday.
  • English Inscriptions: Inscriptions in English are typically brief, detailing names, Gregorian dates, and family relationships, though several longer English epitaphs date to the 1960s and 1970s. Eight government-provided veteran stones feature Stars of David alongside military details.
  • Artistic and Judaic Motifs: Gravestones feature common secular designs (such as flowers and leaves) alongside prominent Jewish symbols. Stars of David are typically associated with men, while menorahs are associated with women. Specific priestly symbols include raised hands for the Kohanim and a pitcher/basin for the Levites.
  • Atypical Practices and Customs: Despite strict Orthodox traditions, some gravestones feature attached photographs of the deceased. Visitors also participate in the long-standing Jewish custom of placing small pebbles on tombstones to honor the dead. Since 2018, volunteers have also placed metal military markers next to all veterans' headstones.

We have proudly served the Lincoln Jewish Community for over 140 years. 

"My parents are buried here. No complaints yet. "

xoxo Daniel Neiden

Mount Carmel Cemetery Association
4225 N 14th Street
Lincoln, Nebraska 68521
Phone (402) 540-4133
Contact
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