2,000 Help Dedicate Jewish Cemetery in Simi Valley

On most occasions, visiting a cemetery is a solemn affair, but for the throngs who flocked to Simi Valley on Sunday it was a chance to joyfully celebrate their religious heritage while marking the addition of a new institution.

More than 2,000 Jews from Southern California’s various Orthodox, Conservative and Reform communities helped dedicate Mount Sinai Memorial Park--the region’s newest Jewish cemetery.

The 162-acre cemetery, nestled in the grassy foothills of Simi Valley, will officially open in about two years and, in addition to burial plots, will include a small chapel and cultural archive center.

In addition to meeting with friends, listening to the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony and eating, celebrants helped rabbis consecrate the future burial ground by walking the perimeter of the property in accordance with Jewish religious law outlined in the Talmud, stopping periodically to pray, sing Psalms and spread soil from Israel on the site. After each stop they sounded the shofar, a polished ram’s horn blown only during important Jewish holidays and events.

According to the Torah, the Hebrew patriarch Abraham walked the length and breadth of the Holy Land to anoint it for his followers and indicate possession.

“Each footprint is a blessing,” said Joanne Siegel of Agoura Hills. “Just as Abraham blessed the ground for his family, we are blessing it for ours and for generations yet to come.”

The event was attended by a handful of city leaders, including Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton.

“This is a tremendous commitment to our community, and I’m excited for it,” Stratton said. “It will definitely be a wonderful addition to our city.”

Stratton added that the cemetery will help the city preserve an area of picturesque land that was previously zoned for tracts of single-family homes. When the Los Angeles Sinai Temple bought the property, officials donated the steep hills hemming in the cemetery to the parks department.

According to Arnold Saltzman, the cemetery’s general manager, Simi Valley’s Mount Sinai Memorial Park will be able to serve Southern California’s Jewish community for the next 250 years, or until the Jewish year 6000, when the Scriptures predict the coming of the Messiah.

And with more than 600,000 Jews calling Southern California home, Saltzman said, a new cemetery could not have come at a better time. Jewish cemeteries across the Southland are quickly running out of space at a time when the community is experiencing tremendous growth. Officials estimate that without an additional cemetery, the region’s largest, Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles, will remain open for just another 17 years.

In addition to the religious ceremonies Sunday, participants were also treated to a free kosher lunch of turkey sandwiches, chocolate confections and frozen ices while being entertained by a musical trio called a klezmer band.

“Today really says something positive about our community,” said Lynn Meyer, who came from Los Angeles to celebrate the event. “It shows that we’re strong and that we’re growing.”