Ohel (Chabad)
Encyclopedia
The Ohel is the name of a religious shrine in Queens, New York, to which thousands of people make a pilgrimage each year. The last Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson
and his father-in-law Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn (the two most recent leaders of the Chabad-Lubavitch
school of Hasidic Judaism
) are interred there. The gravesites of the previous Rebbes of Chabad are also referred to as ohels. Many Lubavitchers visit the shrine especially on the anniversary of Schneerson's death on the Hebrew calendar
.
Visitors have a tradition of writing kvitlach
— prayers on small pieces of paper — which are then torn up and tossed onto the graves. The Ohel includes an on-site fax machine which receives over 700 faxes a day, and a computer which receives 400 e-mails daily. These kvitlach are all printed and then taken to the graves, where they are torn into shreds and placed atop the graves. When the pile grows too high, the shredded notes are burned.
The presence of large numbers of pilgrims, night-time visitations, and the build-up of Chabad homes and facilities in the area has resulted in tension with the surrounding, largely African-American, community.
The Ohel is located at Montefiore Cemetery
(Old Springfield Cemetery) in Cambria Heights.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
and his father-in-law Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn (the two most recent leaders of the Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
school of Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
) are interred there. The gravesites of the previous Rebbes of Chabad are also referred to as ohels. Many Lubavitchers visit the shrine especially on the anniversary of Schneerson's death on the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
.
Visitors have a tradition of writing kvitlach
Kvitel
Kvitel refers to a practice developed by Hasidic Judaism in which a Hasid writes a note with a petitionary prayer and gives it to a Rebbe in order to receive the latter's blessing...
— prayers on small pieces of paper — which are then torn up and tossed onto the graves. The Ohel includes an on-site fax machine which receives over 700 faxes a day, and a computer which receives 400 e-mails daily. These kvitlach are all printed and then taken to the graves, where they are torn into shreds and placed atop the graves. When the pile grows too high, the shredded notes are burned.
The presence of large numbers of pilgrims, night-time visitations, and the build-up of Chabad homes and facilities in the area has resulted in tension with the surrounding, largely African-American, community.
The Ohel is located at Montefiore Cemetery
Montefiore Cemetery
Montefiore Cemetery, also known as "Old Montefiore Cemetery," is a Jewish cemetery in Springfield Gardens, Queens, New York.The cemetery is called by many names. It is known as Old Montefiore, Springfield, or less commonly just plain Montefiore....
(Old Springfield Cemetery) in Cambria Heights.