I love walking in the cemeteries. It goes to show you how life is so short. The Fernhill Cemetery is the most beautiful one in the whole Province.
In the back, there's a Jewish Cemetery. I noticed that many of them have little stones on the headstones. Can someone explain to me the reason of this action?
Yes, life is indeed a short ride and enjoy it while you're here. It doesn't matter if you die at a young age of 4 years old or 100!!! It's still a very short ride.
Monday, February 13, 2006
WHAT'S WITH THE LITTLE STONES ON THE HEADSTONES ANYWAY???
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3 comments:
Why do Jews put pebbles or rocks on graves (like in the movie Schindler's List)?
Answer
It is currently a Jewish custom to put a pebble on the headstone when one visits a grave to mark that you have been there and that you respect the one who has passed on.
This is a very old practise and probably arose from the fact that the Hebrews (Jews) came from Israel which was largely rocky terrain. When you were buried it was either in a cave (like Jesus or his actual name - Yeshua Ben Yosef) with a stone covering or under a rock pile. Steel or iron shovels are a fairly recent invention so digging a large hole wouldn't have been easy in rocky soil. Stones would be piled on the body to keep animals away. Naturally visitors to the grave would have kept piling stones on to keep the grave intact. Clearly well loved individuals would have had more stones and hence better kept graves the longest. So the more stones on the modern gravestone indicates that this was a well loved, well respected individual. There is also the rule that people are not to profit on the death of someone so bringing flowers to a funeral or a grave is not the common Jewish practise. A stone is for the taking. Several summers ago my daughter wanted to visit the Jewish graves of the Titanic victims in Halifax. She was pleased to see graves on the headstones. We left our own in remembrance.
Mourner's Pray
Vis-ga-dal v'yis-ka-dash sh'may ra-bo,
B'ol-mo dee v'ro bir u say, v'uyam-lech, mal-huy-say,
B'ha-yay-hon uv-yo-may-hom, uv-ha-yah d'hol hays yis-ro-ayl,
Ba-a-go-lo, u-viz'man ko-reev, v'im-ru o-mayn.
Or in English:
Glorified and sanctified be God's great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.
very good information thank you
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