Calgary Chevra Kadisha – 100 years of Community Service

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Note: The detour roads to the chapel are in the process of being changed. The route is now becoming more direct. Please follow all detour signs. Please see temporary map HERE.

We now offer our supporters the opportunity to make tax deductible donations to the various initiatives within the Chevra Kadisha. Please click HERE for direct access to donation options. Thank you for your support!

COVID PANDEMIC UPDATE

August 2024

COVID is still with us, and the new variant(s) seem to be more easily transmitted than their predecessors. Case numbers are rising again and we all know someone who may have become infected after attending some kind of event. Seniors, and those with certain chronic medical conditions are particularly vulnerable, as well as those who do not have up to date vaccinations. While pandemic restrictions are not being implemented right now, we continue to strongly recommend precautions when attending a funeral or unveiling.

Please wear a mask whenever you are inside the chapel, or attending a service at a cemetery.
Keep your vaccinations current, get your next one as soon as you are eligible.
If you have any symptoms (a new cough, sore throat, fever, etc.), please refrain from attending a service until you feel better. A negative rapid test result does not necessarily mean that your symptoms are not COVID related.

Please click HERE for funeral notifications.

NEW DIRECTIONS TO THE CHAPEL

Please click here for directions to the 37th Street Chapel.

JEWISH MEMORIAL CHAPEL

A Voluntary Service to The Jewish Community

The Chevra Kadisha, literally “The Holy Society,” is Calgary’s oldest Jewish communal organization.

Its mandate is to provide Jewish burial services and is the continuation of an age-old tradition of burying the dead with dignity, with proper ritual, and as a communal service. Over a thousand burials have been conducted by the Calgary Chevra Kadisha over a 112 year period, all by dedicated volunteers from every spectrum of the community.

The Chevra Kadisha was formed in 1904 when Calgary had only a few Jewish families. An infant, Goldie Bell, died. Her father, Nathan Bell, and Jacob Diamond approached the City and the Jews of Calgary purchased a small plot adjacent to Union Cemetery on 30th Avenue S., on what is now Macleod Trail.

The “Hebrew Burying Ground” cost the tiny Jewish community $160, a substantial sum for the time. There was one burial in 1904 and one in 1906, and there were seven in 1907. The original plot of land was expanded in 1907, and again in 1909.

When the Congregation House of Jacob was formed in 1907, the Chevra Kadisha was carried on by a synagogue committee (with essentially the same leadership). The community was growing rapidly, and in 1914 the Chevra Kadisha was incorporated as an independent society. The first President was Charles Malkin.

Funeral services were conducted in a small building on the cemetery site, from private homes, and later at cooperating funeral homes.

The original cemetery continued to expand, and in 1943, the Chevra Kadisha took over management of a Jewish section of Queen’s Park Cemetery. In 1976, a third Jewish cemetery opened, and is owned and operated by the Beth Tzedec Synagogue.

In 1961, the Chevra Kadisha opened its own funeral chapel on 17th Avenue W. It has since relocated and is now located at the North East corner of Highway 22X and 37 Street SW. Here women and men still religiously perform Tahara – the ritual care and preparation of the deceased – arrange the memorial service, and supervise burial.

It is a labour of love, and a dedication to faith and community.

101 17818 – 37 Street SW
Calgary, AB T2Y 0M9
PHONE: 403-244-4717 (24 Hours)