A dressed up Breslover at Aharon's grave
B"H
Tonight, the Israeli TV channel two news had an interesting report:
Several younger Breslover Chassidim in their 20ies were planning a trip to Aharon's grave in Jordan. The only problem was that Jordan is not too excited about letting religious Jews into the country who intend to pray at a certain site. Even if it is the grave of Moshe's brother Aharon.
The Chassidim had the idea to dress up as secular Israelis. A baseball hat covering the Peyes (sidecurls) and Kipot, for instance. The guys wore colourful shirts and if I had met them in the street I would have thought they were secular. Although the TV channel mentioned Mea Shearim as the place where they come from, I couldn't believe that. The Chassidim looked like unmarried Ba'alei Teshuva who truly knew the secular lifestyle. Ashkenazim and Sepharadim together.
Strange but when I look at the photos from my report last year, everything looks exactly the same as in the TV report tonight. Even the young Jordanian guide.
However, the Breslovers got to Aharon's grave near Petra in Jordan. The Kever is located up on a mountain and you can basically only get to the top when you "rent a donkey". All of them were riding up and the to Jordanian travel guides couldn't believe their eyes when the Breslovers suddenly took off their baseball hats, shook out their Peyes and started dancing, singing and praying around the grave. Several times they asked whether those wild guys are really Jews.
Personally I don't always believe that a Kever of a Zaddik is the true grave but rather a legend. The same with Kever Aharon: Honestly, I don't believe that it is Aharon's grave but, as a blog reader once commentated - "It all depends on the Jewish tradition. Even if there is no proof for the original grave, Jews still pray at a grave when they have done so for hundreds of years".
Example: Kever Rachel outside Bethlehem.
what brings you to say that there is no proof of Kever Rachel?
ReplyDeleteAre you expecting them to dig up every tomb in the holy land?
B"H
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, there cannot be a real proof that the spot is Kever Rachel. There are many doubts whether this Kever as well as Yoseph's grave in Shechem are the true graves of the forefathers. The same regarding Aharon's grave in Jordan.
so is there ever proof of anyone being buried anywhere???
ReplyDeleteAre you saying that all kevorim are bs?
The Arizal too?
Where does it stop?
B"H
ReplyDeleteThere is no stop but there are serious doubts about the true location of certain Kivrei Zaddikim. I even heard different stories about Rabbi Akiva's and Rachel's (his wife) grave in Tiberias. Sometimes there are legends but today, no one can really say wether some locations are the original ones. But, as a commentator on a previous article said: Many times today, we follow a tradition.
B'H
ReplyDeleteSome gravesites were known also through old Arabic traditions.
B"H
ReplyDeleteYes, and I think that Kever Rachel (Bethlehem) and Kever Rachel in Tiberias (Rabbi Akivah's wife) were part of the Arab tradition.
On the other hand, you have Arabs today claiming that different Jewish Zaddikim graves are actually ancient graves of Muslims.