Meron, Israel – It was not immediately clear why the guard, Fitousi, sat huddled up next to a space heater, its cord plugged into a socket some distance away, guarding a seemingly empty piece of ground near the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai on Mount Meron.
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Even without the heater, the piece of ground has been red-hot for a week; like everything having to do with the sacred tomb, it is the source of unending conflict.
Two pits, apparently tombs, uncovered during restoration work at the site, have raised a furor among the ultra-Orthodox. The storm was fed by rumors that the bones of Bar Yohai himself had been uncovered, and that a truck-driver who had agreed to remove the earth of the desecrated tombs had flipped his truck.
It all started with the decision to build a new path to lead to the women’s section, which would prevent eye-contact between men and women and be more comfortable than the previous one.
The decision to renovate was made by a committee consisting of four representatives of ultra-Orthodox groups, who have been managing the sacred site for several years.
The committee is now headed by a representative of the state, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich, the rabbi in charge of Israel’s Jewish holy places.
His appointment garnered such a backlash that Rabinovich had to be given bodyguards.
The paving of the path was apparently intended to calm things, but the discovery of the bones had the opposite effect at the site, which, with an estimated million visitors per year, is the second most popular Jewish pilgrimage site in Israel after the Western Wall.
Rabinovich said work stopped immediately with the discovery of the bones.
“We will not act until we receive directives from the experts,” he said.
However, last Wednesday night, a group of ultra-Orthodox came to the site to protest that the works were still underway.
The tomb that was uncovered is believed to consist of a niche in which bones had been laid, although final determination has not been made.
Following the discovery, an ultra-Orthodox High Court issued a warning that members of the priestly class (who are not permitted in cemeteries) should not come to the site.
Yeshiva students at the tomb today said the truck-driver who had removed the earth from the site, over the requests of protesters, overturned a few minutes later near Moshav Safsufa. The driver, who would not give his name, said on an ultra-Orthodox internet news site that he had indeed overturned.
“I hope it isn’t because of the bones. It’s scary. I feel bad. I won’t do that work any more,” he said.
Conflicts have been erupting over control of the tomb for 200 years, and the latest flap comes amid struggles over the division of space at the site. Most of the area, where a majority of the charity boxes are, is under Sephardic control. State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, who is to visit the tomb in the coming days, has issued a harsh critique of the site’s management.
I doubt that those bones are from the Rashbi, because the bodies of tzaddikim do not rot.
The Rabbonim need to find some reasonable compromise on the issue of “bones” found during excavations in much of Eretz Yisroel. Its virtually impossible to put a shovel in the ground–whether at makom koddosh such as the memorial of RSBY ‘ZL or a simply to fix a underground utility line in Yerushalayim. While respect for the dead is clearly important, respect for the living is even more important and the constant fighting among different Hareidi groups only exacerbates the delays and disruptions while we wait for a goup of amateur archiologists (really bochurim from the Kollel sifting through the dirt) seek to determine what may be buried at the site. Life should go on and a few bones should not provide an excuse to disrupt construction.
sorry but there is no proof that bodies of anyone do not rot after death. there are bubba meisos to be sure, but no proof.
In my opinion this matter is nothing less than the tragedy in India, in Komus & Eicus, meaning in size & value taking in account the meaning of this holy site in Meron as a rare recognized place by ALL of us in klall yisroel.
Klol Yisroel is blessed with a Variety of makes, Cosidish, Litvish, Ashknoz, Sfard, Ortudox, Ultra Ortudox, Bnei Torah, and many more, without mentioning the different Cosidim groups, ALL of them gather at this so holy site in a rare demonstration of unity to cry out their Jewish hart to Hashem in the zecus of Reb Shimon.
One who ever stepped thru the opening of this “Cutser” has high sentiments only recalling stepping on the earth of that holy site.
Bearing in mind that our own brothers should for any good reason touch this site – even with the theoretical excuses of expanding or make easier access – is something that touches and troubles the deepness of our heart, and brings hot tears to a yid’s eye.
As by the India tragedy EVERYONE in Klol Yisroel with a Jewish heart from any spot in the globe from any class or category is deeply touched and devastated by any construction for any purpose at the side of Raby Shimon.
May Hashem help us and give wisdom to this poor hearts and souls.
please, no tests, just move the bones closer to the rashbi. and buryt them. no tests.
I remember my visit there in 1967 from the topography i saw that the whole field around the buildings was a beis hakavrous you could easily see the spaces where the bodies were buried
the sfas emes brings in a few places cases where they uncovered bodies of even simple jews that didnt rot….he explained there that the decomposition of a body has to do with the nessecity of the fixing or tikkun that body has for clal yisroel and zechusim of the niftar…..he said that the son of reb shimon bar yochai , reb elazar, had a certain degree of decompistion and he mentions another zaddik that had it as well though i would like to keep the name private as some gedolim argue on that one. The fact that some people dont believe in the ability of g-d to change teva for a zaddik is a nebuch for them…..one day they will see the things they couldve accomplished both physical and spiritual through connecting througha zaddik to hashem yisborach and the medrash say the will eat their own flesh….the embarrasment will be too great….please please break out of the tumah and coverings that have amassed on ure heart and try to be a simple erlicher jew….i promise it wont hurt! lol
a gut chanukah
That a tragedy hasn’t yet happened on Lag B’oimer with all those crowds in the Tzion is a Nes. They should do whatever it takes to make it safer. Chalilah there should be a stampede like by the Arabs in Mecca or their other Haj’s.