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'Death should not be a taboo' says the man who wants you to take your children to cemeteries

Can people who kill themselves have a Jewish burial? Can you be buried in a Jewish cemetery if you have tattoos? Melvyn Hartog, of the US Burial Society, is the man with the answers

July 19, 2018 09:16
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ByJenni Frazer, Jenni Frazer

5 min read

It would be hard to think of someone better suited to his job than the avuncular Melvyn Hartog, head of the United Synagogue’s Burial Society. The very opposite of the Grim Reaper, Hartog exudes warmth, kindness and sympathy in a conversation repeatedly interrupted by calls on his mobile phone.

And yet, he is an exasperated man. The speech he regularly makes to shuls and schools reflects that exasperation, as its title indicates: “Talking about death won’t kill you”.

Hartog believes that there is a widespread, and lamentable, ignorance within Anglo-Jewry about death — its rituals and the reasons behind them. And while he is doing his best to try to bring the community’s young people up to speed, he says it’s not just the youth who are lacking.

Controversially, perhaps, Hartog declares: “A cemetery is not a frightening place. You should take your children, your grandchildren, and talk about your family history”.