Arrangements

Stone Setting or Consecration arrangements are made through members’ respective synagogues and contact should be made direct using the details below. We do not normally liaise directly with families to book a stone setting.

The Cemetery has its own Memorial Stone Guidelines, approved by the four owning communities, which all stonemasons must follow. These include the type of materials and lettering options, maximum heights and thickness for the headstone and colour choices for chippings where appropriate. These guidelines are available on request.

S&P Sephardi Community
Diana Zelouf or Helen Doherty
020 7289 2573
020 7289 7827

West London Synagogue
Micky Nathanson
020 7723 4404

Liberal Judaism
Lisa Godsal
020 7580 1663.

Belsize Square Synagogue
Lee Taylor
0207 794 3949

Please wait until after 9 months from the funeral before the new memorial is fixed to allow the ground to settle.

The three stonemasons below are licensed to work at Edgwarebury Cemetery:

Best Memorials
109 High Street, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 7DB
Tel: 020 8905 7275
Email: info@bestmemorials.co.uk
Website: www.memorialmasters.co.uk

A Elfes
130 High Street, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 7EL
Tel: 0203 974 1621

12 Beehive Lane, Gants Hill, Ilford, Essex IG1 3RD
Tel: 020 8629 6923
Email: enquiries@memorialgroup.co.uk
Website: www.memorialgroup.co.uk

Gary Green Monumental Masons
14 Claybury Broadway, Clayhall, Ilford, Essex IG5 0LQ
Tel: 020 8551 6866

14 Manor Park Crescent, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 7LY
Tel: 020 8381 1525
Email: info@garygreenmemorials.co.uk
Website: garygreenmemorials.co.uk

NOTE: EJBB CANNOT BE REGARDED AS GIVING ANY GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY OF THE WORKMANSHIP OR MATERIALS OF ANY OF THE MONUMENTAL MASONS NAMED AND IN YOUR OWN INTERESTS YOU ARE ADVISED TO OBTAIN ALTERNATIVE ESTIMATES.  THE ABOVE-NAMED ARE ALL MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MONUMENTAL MASONS.

What is a Yahrzeit?

A Yahrzeit marks the anniversary of the passing of a loved one. The day holds special significance to the family and friends who come together to remember the life and legacy of the departed. The Yahrzeit also marks a period in which mitzvot (positive deeds) carried out on that day are hugely beneficial to the soul of the departed.

Some of the customs which are followed during the Yahrzeit period:

The family will light a Yahrzeit candle at the beginning of the Yahrzeit (this begins at nightfall) It should stay alight for 24 hours.

Family and friends visit the grave of their loved one where psalms (tehillim) and the mourners kaddish prayer are recited. (In order to recite the Kaddish, some communities will require a minyan of 10 males above Bar Mitzvah age).

The Yahrzeit is one in which we reflect on the lives of our loved ones and the legacy they left, and through good deeds we can help to uplift the spirit of the departed.

Why do we place Pebbles on a Memorial?

The custom of placing small stones or pebbles on top of a memorial is an old Jewish practice that goes back to medieval times and possibly earlier. One reference is found in a commentary to the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) called the B’er Heitev. This explains that the custom is for the honour of the deceased person by marking the fact that his/her grave has been visited.

Long ago, the deceased was not placed in a coffin, but rather the body was prepared, washed and wrapped in a burial shroud, or for a male, in his tallit (prayer shawl). Then the body was placed in the ground, covered with soil and then large stones would be placed on top of the gravesite, preventing wild animals from digging up the remains.

Over time, individuals would go back to the gravesite and continue to place stones, ensuring the security of the site and as a way to build up the “memory” of the loved one. As time passed on, and carved monuments became the preferred memorial, the custom of leaving a visitation stone become a symbolic gesture for the visitor to say to the loved one, “I remember you…”

A common theme, however, is that stones last for eternity – as opposed to the short life span of flowers. Like the memory of our loved ones, stones will never die. Placing flowers which wither and die has never been a Jewish custom though individuals may choose to do so. In life, people may enjoy the beauty of their physical surroundings, but when they die, all of their material possessions and beauty are meaningless, and left behind. it is only their accumulated spiritual wealth that remains immortal, just like a rock, which stays forever.