the old jewish cemetery

the old jewish cemetery, also referred to as the thomson road cemetery, was located between lorong sinaran and kampong chia heng, where the novena square now stands. there was a main gate leading to it but this gate was normally kept closed. it was only opened when there was a funeral. there was also a side-gate which was just up the slope, next to our zinc-roof house at kampong chia heng. in later years, this gate was also kept locked.

in my growing up years, the cemetery, at my backyard, was my playground. early in the morning, i would go to the bushes along the perimeter fence and the undergrowth, near to the tan tock seng hospital, to catch spiders. normally, the caretakers - two javanese families - would leave me alone. during the kite-flying season, we would go to the field to fly kites or to go after kites that had been cut loose.

i enjoyed reading the inscriptions on the tombstones. smaller graves usually belonged to babies and young children. some of the larger ones had elaborate statues adorning them. some of the verses carved on the stones were quite meaningful. quite a number of the tombstones were constructed out of white marble. but there was no cross on them, only the star of david.

i also remember spending many happy hours with my neighbours 'tobogganing' down the grassy slope at the cemetery. we would use thick cardboard pieces, big enough for us to sit on, and slid down the slope. it was actually a short ride but it gave us lots of thrills and sometimes, a bit of a spill.

i was at the cemetery even at night time, not alone though. we would go there to enjoy the peace and quiet while the adults played with cards (gambled). i have to admit that i was quite scared during those times but male bravado made me go through with it.

there were not just tombs at the cemetery. there were a few mausoleums on the side closer to lorong sinaran. i used to wonder at the amount of money that they would have spent on such a nice resting place for the dead. there was also a community hall where the mourners gathered and where the corpse was cleansed before burial.

i think burial usually took place early in the morning. when there was a burial, the caretakers would forbid us to intrude into the cemetery grounds. i sneaked in more than once to watch the proceedings. like the muslims, the jewish do not have a coffin for the dead; instead they wrap the corpse in layers of cloth.

the caretakers also doubled up as grave diggers. they would prepare the pit once they had been informed of a death in the jewish community. it took a few men a few hours to dig the grave. sometimes, the caretakers would rope in their own friends to help with the digging.

there was one incident which we, kampong folks, all heard about. one of the caretaker's friends or relatives who was helping to prepare the pit, collapsed and died - could have suffered a heart attack - while digging the grave.

the cemetery was around up to 80s. after that it had to make way for the construction of the mrt line and the novena station.