Ron Kahn is a patient man. It took more than a decade of bureaucratic mishegas to realize his vision of providing a vital service to the Jewish community where he lives. But Magen David, touted as the first new Jewish cemetery in Alameda County in 100 years, is finally open.
Magen David’s first graveside service and burial were held in early March.
“It was surreal,” Kahn, CEO of Magen David, said of reaching this milestone. “We had overcome all the hurdles. To be able to do something that will benefit the entire Jewish community was the primary goal.”
The 6-acre cemetery, with more than 7,000 plots available, is nestled in the Livermore foothills just off Interstate 580 with the Arroyo Las Positas creek flowing nearby. It is part of the newly opened Monte Vista Memorial Gardens and Mortuary, which covers 104 acres.
Magen David’s landscape design includes a Star of David-shaped trellis — big enough to be seen from the windows of passing airplanes, according to Kahn — and a perimeter dotted with olive and pomegranate trees. Once construction is complete, the site will include a mortuary, chapel, pavilion, kosher kitchen and mikvah, as well as office space. Kahn said the work should be completed in about two years.
Andy Martinez, a 35-year veteran of the funeral home industry and a Monte Vista board member, consulted on the project. “As I got to know the people involved I became more impressed,” he said. “I went from being a little unsure to being in awe.”
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick of Chabad of the Tri-Valley attended the March 6 burial and said it was an emotional moment for him. He served as a sounding board throughout the development of the cemetery and is gratified that the local Jewish community now has an option that observes the Jewish way in death and mourning.
“We had a small section in Roselawn cemetery [in Livermore], but there was no more space,” he told J. “The only other options were in Lafayette, Oakland or Colma. We’re creating something that will last far beyond our years.”
The other Jewish burial sites in the East Bay include three owned or managed by Sinai Memorial Chapel — Gan Shalom in Briones, Home of Eternity in Oakland and a section of Oakmont Memorial Park in Lafayette — and Home of Peace in Oakland, owned by Beth Jacob Congregation.
The Magen David project began more than a decade ago when urban planner T.W. Starkweather, who owned the land, offered Kahn the opportunity to design the Jewish section of a cemetery. It took years of permitting, easements, waivers and other approvals to move forward. Conservation groups opposed to the project sued, and the case had to work its way through the courts. Ultimately the legal path was cleared after the Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously gave the green light for Monte Vista in August 2023.
Last month, Resnick and others consecrated Magen David’s grounds by traversing it seven times while reciting prayers.
Until construction is complete, modular offices are in place to serve the public. A dedicated chevra kadisha — volunteers to conduct the Jewish traditions such as taharah, the ritual washing of the body — will be set up eventually. For now, taharah will be offered off-site.
Meanwhile, Kahn feels relieved that the decadelong approval process is behind him.
“They say a Jewish community starts when there’s a shul, a mikvah and a cemetery,” he said. “We now have a place that will welcome anybody of the Jewish faith.”
Resnick reflected on the role of clergy in the full cycle of Jewish life, including death.
“People come to rabbis for hatch, match and dispatch — when there’s new life, when there’s a wedding, and, unfortunately, for the end of life,” he said. “In each of those areas, my humble role is to try to infuse holiness, godliness and meaning into each of those moments of life. You’re born into this world as a Jew, and you should leave as a Jew.”