A Private Walk Through The Garden of Yiddish Names

Beyond the walls of one of the oldest and noisiest markets of Tbilisi lies a gated garden filled with pine trees and birdsong. Once located on the outskirts of Old Tbilisi, this quiet space became the resting place of the city’s Ashkenazi Jewish community.

Established in the 19th century, the cemetery grew into a masterpiece of fine craftsmanship and ornamentation, a living museum dedicated to immortalizing the memory of loved ones. Rabbis, traders, refugees, actors and actresses of Tbilisi’s Yiddish Theater, and many others rest here, their tombstones standing frozen in time.

Join me for a walk through the cemetery and discover some of Tbilisi’s prominent Ashkenazi community members, their names, and the stories hidden behind their stones.

Come and meet the Chief Rabbis of Georgia and Armenia, teachers and board members of Tbilisi’s historic Yiddish-speaking school and Jewish Gymnasium, as well as family members of Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel from 2001 to 2006.