Sephardic synagogue in Tiberias

Visiting graves and holy sites. The Torah says: ‘The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die”’ (Leviticus 21, 1). Therefore, although remembering and honouring the dead is important in the Jewish faith, cemeteries are considered an ‘unclean’ place, and priests were even forbidden to come near the deceased or to enter the cemetery. Jews are strictly forbidden to visit cemeteries on the Sabbath or holidays. Elul, the month of forgiveness and mercy (around August and

September), is reserved for visiting graves. After visiting, a stone, symbolising the long-term memory of the deceased, is placed on the grave. After leaving the cemetery, a person must perform a ritual ablution by pouring water over the hands three times.

At the same time, it is a custom in the Jewish tradition to visit various holy sites, including the graves of famous sages and rabbis. Many Jews from around the world visit the grave of the Vilna Gaon in Lithuania every year. There are several hundred holy sites in the land of Israel. The artist Benzion Zukerman, who lived in Palestine from 1923 to 1927, depicted the tomb of Meir Baal Hanes (in Hebrew baal hanes means ‘a miracle-worker’), who lived in the second century, against the background of the Tiberias Mountains and the Sea of Galilee. In the mid-19th century, two synagogues, Ashkenazi and Sephardic, were built on a rock above the cave. Zukerman’s painting shows the dome of the Ashkenazi synagogue. The synagogue and the buildings are still standing, and every year thousands of believers visit this Jewish holy site.

Text author Vilma Gradinskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album STORIES OF LITVAK ART (2023). Compiler and author Vilma Gradinskaitė
Expositions: "Shalom, Israel! The Paths of Litvak Artists", 16 December  2015  – 13 March 2016, Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum, Vilnius (curator Vilma Gradinskaitė); “Académie de Vilna. Vilnius Drawing School (1866–1915)”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Jolanta Širkaitė). Published: Académie de Vilna: Vilniaus piešimo mokykla 1866-1915 / Vilnius drawing school: Exhibition Catalogue, Nacionalinė dailės galerija 2017 m. 4 d. - lapkričio 26 d., compiled by Jolanta Širkaitė, Vilnius: Lietuvos kultūros tyrimų institutas, 2017, p. 362.

Visiting graves and holy sites. The Torah says: ‘The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die”’ (Leviticus 21, 1). Therefore, although remembering and honouring the dead is important in the Jewish faith, cemeteries are considered an ‘unclean’ place, and priests were even forbidden to come near the deceased or to enter the cemetery. Jews are strictly forbidden to visit cemeteries on the Sabbath or holidays. Elul, the month of forgiveness and mercy (around August and

September), is reserved for visiting graves. After visiting, a stone, symbolising the long-term memory of the deceased, is placed on the grave. After leaving the cemetery, a person must perform a ritual ablution by pouring water over the hands three times.

At the same time, it is a custom in the Jewish tradition to visit various holy sites, including the graves of famous sages and rabbis. Many Jews from around the world visit the grave of the Vilna Gaon in Lithuania every year. There are several hundred holy sites in the land of Israel. The artist Benzion Zukerman, who lived in Palestine from 1923 to 1927, depicted the tomb of Meir Baal Hanes (in Hebrew baal hanes means ‘a miracle-worker’), who lived in the second century, against the background of the Tiberias Mountains and the Sea of Galilee. In the mid-19th century, two synagogues, Ashkenazi and Sephardic, were built on a rock above the cave. Zukerman’s painting shows the dome of the Ashkenazi synagogue. The synagogue and the buildings are still standing, and every year thousands of believers visit this Jewish holy site.

Text author Vilma Gradinskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album STORIES OF LITVAK ART (2023). Compiler and author Vilma Gradinskaitė
Expositions: "Shalom, Israel! The Paths of Litvak Artists", 16 December  2015  – 13 March 2016, Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum, Vilnius (curator Vilma Gradinskaitė); “Académie de Vilna. Vilnius Drawing School (1866–1915)”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Jolanta Širkaitė). Published: Académie de Vilna: Vilniaus piešimo mokykla 1866-1915 / Vilnius drawing school: Exhibition Catalogue, Nacionalinė dailės galerija 2017 m. 4 d. - lapkričio 26 d., compiled by Jolanta Širkaitė, Vilnius: Lietuvos kultūros tyrimų institutas, 2017, p. 362.