The fourth lines says, "A son (i.e., a man or a person) of 53 years." This is a formal way of saying, "age 53." This line has the fascinating wording b'shnat (in the year) followed by ulhorat notan b-lido. But this does not immediately appear to tell us the year! It was a quotation from Exodus 35:34 "and He [the Almighty] put in his heart that he may teach." The last word also can be taken as "preach" or "give of himself". This is a brief extract from Moses' words when he was introducing Betzalel, architect and artist of the sanctuary of the Exodus, to the Israelites. Betzalel Mendelsohn also was an artist in his own way. So the passage is a compliment, but the words "in the year" tell us that there is more to it, and we must search for the year of death.
Gematria is a cabalistic alphanumeric procedure in which each Hebrew letter has a numeric value. At the top of some of the letters in the Biblical quote above is a little apostrophe or slash. When the numerical value of those letters is added, the sum is 657. Add 5,000 which represents the current Hebrew-calendar millennium, and we have 5657. In other words, Sali Mendelsohn died in the Hebrew year 5657 AM. Why "AM"? This stands for anno mundi or "the year of the world," which is the count of years, assessed from Biblical narrative, since creation.
The last item on that line is reproduced below. It is a logogram (symbol for frequent word) formed from the initial letters of the words l'perek katan; the letters lamed, pay, and koof can be discerned. It means "by the abbreviated count." Alternatively, it can mean lifrat kahn or "following local custom." The logogram tells us that the thousands digit has been left out. It seems to be that, long ago, the stonemasons decided that there was no point in including the letters hay yad, which indicate that the year was in the 5,000-6,000 millennium, as they would be in that millennium for a long time to come. So they dropped the 5,000 unit and added the logogram to indicate what had been done.Drowning Tragedy
A second tombstone illustrates yet another problem in determining date of death. A young man lost his life prematurely by drowning. His monument depicts his death symbolically in sculpted bas-relief. From the clouds above, an arm reaches down; in its hand is an axe that has just chopped through the trunk of a palm tree. The top has been severed, symbolizing the premature cutting off of his life. The English inscription is interesting for the detail given, such as the father's address and the story of the tragedy that unfolded. It read:
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Sacred to the memory of Samuel Joseph, fourth son of Jacob LEVY of 26 Fitzroy Square, London. Drowned Cairns May 26 1886/5546, Aged 26 years. May his soul rest in peace. The Lord on high is mightier Than the noise of many waters." "Unless the Lord has been my help, my soul has almost dwelt in silence." |
More Biblical Quotations
It is regarded as meritorious if a person's memorial bears an appropriate Biblical passage. Some found in Toowong are: · On the stone of a man who died at the age of 20 is a passage from Genesis 37:30: "and the young lad is not with us."
· On the stone of a man who occupied the president's seat in the synagogue for some years, is a passage from Samuel I, 20:18: "… thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty."
· On a striking monument is engraved part of the beautiful verse, "A woman of worth who can find" from the Book of Proverbs.
Date of Death and Other Problems
If a person has died after sunset, the Hebrew inscription may show the date of the following day, while on the English inscription, the date of death by the civil calendar is shown. Our chevra kadisha often is approached by individuals who have noted an apparent disparity.
Judaism believes that a burial has not been entirely completed until the person's name is permanently inscribed above his or her last resting place. How soon after a burial may a monument be erected and when may it be consecrated is a question that is often asked. I have not found any definite ruling; the matter is governed by local minhag (custom.) In Brisbane, the burial plot should be covered by a concrete slab as soon as possible. Eleven months after the interment, a headstone may be erected. It is consecrated, as nearly as possible, on the anniversary of the death, but whatever suits the convenience of the mourners is acceptable.
A historian or genealogist has a problem when the date of death differs from the date of burial. This sometimes occurs when a non-Jewish spouse has interred the deceased in a non-Jewish cemetery, but the Jewish family has subsequently transferred the body. As we have seen above, in the case of the drowning victim, transfer may occur for other reasons as well.
A difference between the dates may be due to the time of the death certificate, delay until relatives arrive from afar, the fact that burial cannot occur on Shabbat or during the High Holy Days, nor (in Brisbane) on Sundays. Of course, errors also occur in death certificates. Another problem arises when the sexton, funeral director, and/or stone mason is given a name or nickname that is not the same as the original given name. In Toowong, on the monument of a man, is the name he took after he escaped from a Nazi concentration camp. He took the name to avoid recapture. As he was no longer in danger from the Gestapo, he directed that on his monument his true name should be inscribed. This appears in brackets after his adopted name.
Pebbles
It is Jewish custom, to place a pebble or small stone on a grave when one visits a cemetery. This is intended to convey a three-fold message. "You are not forgotten." "See-I have been here." "I have added to your monument."
Morris Ochert, OAM, lives in Brisbane, Australia, where he is the local representative of the Australian Jewish Genealogical Society. He writes for the AJGS Kosher Koala and for the Australian Jewish Historical Society journal.
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