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| LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION: | Fonds |
| No.: | PR0297 |
| TITLE: | Edmonton Chevra Kadisha fonds |
| CREATOR: | Edmonton Chevra Kadisha |
| DATE RANGE: | 1915-1989 |
| EXTENT: | 0.24 m of textual records
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| ADMINISTRATIVE |
| HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | The Edmonton Chevra Kadisha, a Holy Society responsible for preparing the dead for burial according to Jewish law, was formed in Edmonton, Alberta in 1907. Jewish law dictates a separation between men and women during burial, and the society accordingly divides into men's and women's divisions.
The first members of the Men's Chevra Kadisha were also the founders of the Edmonton Hebrew Association. These members sought volunteers from the Edmonton Hebrew Ladies' Aid Society to take responsibility for the preparation of women for burial. In 1914, the women had unofficially formed their own division of the Edmonton Chevra Kadisha. The Ladies' Chevra Kadisha was officially formed with the adoption of by-laws in 1920. Between 1907 and 1935, ninety-two men and women were active in the Edmonton Chevra Kadisha. In the early years the taharot, or ritual washing of the body, ocurred in the home of the deceased or in the Beth Israel synagogue. Between 1930 and 1935, families donated money to help finance the construction of a new building and in 1935 a new chapel was realized. A subsequent chapel was erected in 1963.
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| CUSTODIAL HISTORY: | The Provincial Archives of Alberta received material from the Burial Society Edmonton Chevra Kadisha in 1975 and 1998. |
| SCOPE AND CONTENT: | The fonds consists of minute books of the Ladies Chevra Kadisha dating from 1918-1989, and a Register of Burials for the Chevra Kadisha at Dowler Hill Cemetary dating from 1915-1942. |
| LANGUAGE NOTE: | Some of the records are written in Yiddish. |
| INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING ACCESSIONS: | PR1998.0921 |
| RELATED RECORDS: | For more material regarding individuals and Jewish activities in Edmonton, available at the Provincial Archives of Alberta, please see the Felber fonds, Edmonton Talmud Torah fonds, Louis and Tryna Rudolph fonds, Howard and Ester Starkman fonds, and the Maurice Stochinsky fonds available at the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Please also see: PR1978.0236 for a photograph of the Chevra Kadisha building.
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| GENERAL NOTE: | Information for the administrative history/biographical sketch sourced from: Rozenweig, Uriel. The First Century of Jewish Life in Edmonton and Northern Alberta 1893-1993. Edmonton: Jewish Archives and Historical Society of Edmonton and Northern Alberta, 2000.
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