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Jewish Topics of Interest
Why Visitors Leave Stones on Grave Monuments
Was Christopher Columbus Jewish? Why is it so hard to tell?
Was Christopher Columbus Jewish? Some circumstantial evidence.
Why Visitors Leave Stones on Grave Monuments
This is a picture of the monument marking the grave of my parents, of blessed memory. It has long been the tradition for each visitor to a Jewish grave site to place a single stone on the monument. Seven such little stones can be seen on this one. As a child, when visiting his parent's graves, I asked my father why people left the stones. He said that it was to tell the visitors that followed that others had also visited the grave.
When attending the unveiling of my Uncle Abe's grave monument, the officiating Rabbi provided an additional explanation that is a little more satisfying. When the tradition started, grave monuments were mounds of stones. Visitors added stones to "the mound" to show we are never finished building the monument to the deceased.
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Copyright Jerold H. Feinstein, PE 1997-00 All rights reserved; contact for permission to
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This page was last updated on 03/19/2000
