Congregation Rodef Sholom, in conjunction with a number of local synagogues and Fernwood Cemetery in Mill Valley, has created a green cemetery called Gan Yarok (meaning green garden or cemetery). While Rodef Sholom will continue to maintain and operate our own beautiful section at Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery, we also wanted to offer an alternative to our members. Gan Yarok incorporates the values of the green movement while maintaining Jewish traditions of burial and honoring our loved ones.
What makes the cemetery green? Gan Yarok is a natural setting, where the grass and plants are preserved in their natural state. Graves are marked by a naturally-shaped rock (which can be engraved) as opposed to a headstone. Gan Yarok truly manifests the values that so many of us uphold; those of preserving the beauty of Marin’s natural setting and respect for the land, and the living (and dying) in harmony with the earth.
We are so proud that Gan Yarok is the first (and only) green Jewish cemetery in the country. It is fitting that Marin County is now home to a breathtakingly beautiful green cemetery for us all, one that is holy and honors both life and death, and the land around us.
