Kivrei tsadikim as holy places? The tsadikification process of Jewish cemeteries in the state of Israel

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the major change in the Jewish sacred space in Israel. It demonstrates the distinct process wherein pilgrimages emphasizing ancient Jewish history are often replaced by visits at the tombs of venerated contemporary figures. In various places throughout Israel (and the Diaspora), a complex system of sacred tombs has developed comprising sites that are physically and symbolically distant from Jerusalem. In recent years, cemeteries throughout the State of Israel have been transformed from burial places serving the families of the deceased to pilgrimage destinations for visitors specifically seeking to prostrate themselves on the holy graves of rabbis, public figures, and leaders of communities and Hasidic dynasties, whether Mizrachi or Ashkenazi. This tsadikification process has developed almost without institutional or national political involvement, and is the result of the activities of individuals and families, non-profit organizations, Hasidic dynasties, and various organizations promoting the expansion of the map of Jewish sanctity.