Shearith Israel Memorial Park

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker at Shearith Israel Memorial Park tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. In 1886, the state of Texas approved a charter for a congregation called Sharis Israel, a name meaning remnant of Israel, and for a cemetery to go along with it. Now, before there was any charter, before there was any building, Dallas-area Jews were already gathering for services.

Where? A grocery store. That's right.

You start where you can, and you build from there. Then came other buildings, one after another, until 1892, when the congregation purchased property to build a permanent synagogue. But here's the thing that'll get you: the burial ground was already in use by the early 1880s.

The congregation hadn't even been officially chartered yet, and the land for that first cemetery wasn't purchased until 1887. The dead arrived before the paperwork did. The earliest burial in what is now Shearith Israel Memorial Park dates all the way back to 1881.

From 1913 to 1917, the Women's Auxiliary took on a beautification project, tending the grounds, shaping something worthy of the people resting there. Then, in June of 1917, the name of the congregation and cemetery changed to Shaareth Israel. And then again, in 1936, it became Shearith Israel, the name it carries to this day.

Walk through that cemetery and you'll find curbing and vertical stones, obelisks and grave houses, Woodmen of the World gravestones, and a ritual hand washing facility. The Star of David is present throughout the property. There are monuments and tablets, and something called a genizah marker, a place where sacred books and religious objects, worn beyond use, are buried rather than discarded.

Because some things are too holy to simply throw away. Among the interred are rabbis, cantors, business and community leaders, veterans of military conflicts, and survivors of the Holocaust. Survivors who outlasted the worst the world could do, and came to rest here, in Dallas, Texas.

The cemetery is still active. Still serving congregation Shearith Israel. Still standing as a chronicle of the synagogue and the pioneers of the Jewish community in the Dallas area.

A grocery store was the beginning. A living, breathing burial ground, more than a century deep, is where the story stands now.

What the marker says

In 1886, the state of Texas approved a charter for congregation Sharis Israel (meaning remnant of israel) and cemetery. The new congregation was organized by Dallas-area Jews, who first met for services in a grocery store and then in other buildings. The orthodox burial ground was in use by the early 1880s, though the first cemetery land was purchased in 1887. In 1892, the congregation purchased property to build a permanent synagogue. Additional land was purchased for cemetery use in the early 20th century. From 1913-17, the Women's Auxiliary conducted a beautification project on the cemetery grounds. In June 1917, the name of the congregation and cemetery changed to Shaareth Israel, and again, in 1936, to Shearith Israel. The earliest burial in Shearith Israel Memorial Park dates to 1881. The cemetery features curbing, vertical stones, obelisks, grave houses, Woodmen of the World gravestones, and a ritual hand washing facility. The star of David symbol is also present throughout the property. The burial ground includes a number of monuments, tablets, and a genizah marker, where discarded sacred books and religious objects, unusable due to wear and tear, are buried. Among the interred are Rabbis, cantors, business and community leaders, veterans of military conflicts, and survivors of the Holocaust. The active cemetery continues to serve congregation Shearith Israel, while remaining a chronicle of the synagogue and the pioneers of the Jewish community in the Dallas area.