Grigorescu, Felicia: Forme de artă în cimitire evreieşti din nord-vestul Romaniei (Satu Mare, 2013)
Glosar de termeni
the Macpela Cave. This was an example for the other Jews. When Isaac died, by burial it is given to his people, specific to the Bible"4. In many cemeteries there is a separation of the areas where the men are buried from those where the women are buried, mostly for orthodox communities , this separation was imposed, similar to the one in the synagogue. Since the beginning of the XIX century they are buried in the order of their death, either poor or rich they shall be buried one beside the other24 * 26. There were special places reserved for the rabbis, priests and important personalities of the community in the Jewish cemetery. They were ranged in the most visible places, often very close to the entrance or in one line on one side of the cemetery. When the community was rich, the sepulchers of these chosen ones where protected in little funeral chapels, this often occurred in urban cemeteries. According to the specifications all are equal in the cemetery, no matter how rich they are. Nevertheless, there is a visible desire to show the wealth of the family, by the material and dimension of the stone or sometimes of the complexity of the funeral sepulcher. In the north-west of Romania we have identified such sepulchers, some of them being true mausoleums. These could belong to one person, or to group the members of the same family. There was always a reserved place for children's sepulchers, the tomb stones of these sepulchers are of small dimensions, but keep the shape of the adults' tomb stones. Those who were outlawed and died (apostates, suicides, criminals, or non- Jews) were buried in isolated lots at the edge of the cemetery, because the Law stipulates that each corpse must be buried, but these ones could not be positioned near to a devotee. The surrounding27 of the Jewish cemeteries must be done in order to prevent the entrance of grazing animals, in order not to be passages - shortcuts, not to be crossed by aqueducts and mainly to limit the impure space, where the rabbis are not allow to enter. In some big cities from Europe, the cemeterial areas were circumscribed by the surroundings, they sometimes used to have impressive entrances, marked by architectural elements which enhanced their grandeur, mostly for huge portals shrouded symmetrically by wide unfoldings, richly decorated, and their function was chiefly demonstrative, and adorning. They also had giant pillars, often with facets, columns with capitals amply adorned having ornamental vases or even statues. These pompous entrances were specific to great Jewish cemeteries in towns. In the selected area, one does not know the existence of monumental entrances, the only remarkable ones are those from the surrounding complex, identified in the new cemetery from Carei (Pic. 50) where the two entrances, one for people and the other larger one for the convoy are marked by elevated strong pillars, the neologue one in Satu Mare, access which is at the same time entrance to the mortuary chapel, and at Valea lui Mihai where the entrance to the cemetery is made by a modest portal, is composed by curved metal panel, supported by 24 Bible, Genesis 35:29, Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. 24 Raj Tamás, Bevezetés, konyvek/html/2007-zsidokonyv/raj-tamas-magyar.htm, (From now on: Bevezetés...) 26 Erdély Lajos, Régi zsidó temetők művészete, Kriterion Könyvkiadó, Bukarest, 1980, p. 17 27 FCER, Memoria .... p. 85 98
