Q&A: Visiting the Graves of Righteous People
Visiting the Graves of Righteous People
Question
Hello Rabbi,
A friend told me about the grave of a righteous person where one is supposed to come to the grave in sequence (Monday, Thursday, Monday) and leave food for the poor. After praying there with proper intention, it is promised that the merit of the righteous person will help the prayer.
That same friend told me that his mother went to this grave twice and saw deliverance in both cases within less than a year. Based on his familiarity with me, my friend expected me to dismiss what he said, but I decided that I cannot easily reject testimony about such a phenomenon. I decided that I want to go to the grave of that righteous person and pray there with proper intention.
While talking with a few friends who, like me, define themselves as "rational," the concern was raised that this is involvement in idol worship.
I wanted to ask the Rabbi's opinion: in his view, is there any prohibition against going up to the graves of righteous people, and does he believe that prayer can change reality?
Answer
Personally, I do not believe in such things. Even if there was success, it could be coincidence, and it is not always clear what counts as success, etc. Over the course of a year, many things can happen. And all this is even assuming that prayers are in fact answered, which in my opinion is itself very doubtful.
As for whether it is prohibited, in my opinion anything that is not directly about prayer carries a tinge of prohibition. Even the very act of going to the grave itself—though many have been lenient about that. But going on specific days, saying some particular formula specifically, and so on—I would not do any of that in any case.
In any event, one should place one's reliance on prayer, and not on anything or anyone else.
Discussion on Answer
Thank you very much!
I would be glad to continue clarifying this, since throughout the entire Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) we encounter a kind of combination of magical acts and prayer. An example could be the process by which Elisha revives the child.
The beating of the ships' omelet on the floor in order to win a war, and even Moses striking the rock.
Could you also refer me to sources on which you base the prohibition?
I conduct myself according to Jewish law. Narratives in the Hebrew Bible are not a halakhic source, and they can be interpreted in different ways (which is also why I do not generally study them). Based on the spoken formula and the like, halakhically there is a prohibition of divination and sorcery in all these matters. See Maimonides, Laws of Idol Worship, chapter 11 (where he also argues that this does not actually work in practice), and the Tur, section 392.
An important clarification: the prohibition does not depend on success. Even if you think it worked for you, that does not mean there is no prohibition involved.