Ohel (Chabad-Lubavitch)

Description

The Ohel is located at Montefiore Cemetery (Old Springfield Cemetery) in Cambria Heights, Queens. The cemetery is a vestige of the large Jewish community that once inhabited Cambria Heights; the area is now largely African American.

The Ohel is situated at the northern edge of the cemetery, near the corner of Francis Lewis Boulevard and 121st Avenue, in a section designated for prominent Lubavitcher men and their wives. It is an open-air structure containing the side-by-side graves of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880–1950) and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994).

A row of small brick houses along Francis Lewis Boulevard abuts the cemetery. In 1995, Lubavitcher Hasidim bought one of these houses and turned it into a 24-hour visitors center. This center includes a video room, a library, a small synagogue, a quiet room for visitors to compose the prayers they will say in the Ohel, and refreshments. The entrance to the Ohel is through the back door of this house and down a pathway. Once inside the Ohel structure, men and women enter the actual gravesite through separate doors.

History

Following the burial of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn in the cemetery in 1950, his successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, would visit his father-in-law's grave several times a week – as often as six days a week. He would read out the requests of people who had come to speak with him, then tear the notes and leave them at the gravesite. After the death of his wife in 1988, the Ohel was the only place Schneerson regularly visited outside Brooklyn. He suffered his first stroke at the Ohel in 1992.

Following Schneerson's death and burial at the Ohel in 1994, the number of visitors to the Ohel increased significantly. Today, tens of thousands of Jews visit the Ohel annually. It is also frequented by travelers going to or returning from nearby John F. Kennedy International Airport or 770 Eastern Parkway, the headquarters of Chabad in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

The presence of large numbers of pilgrims, nighttime visitations, and the build-up of Chabad homes and facilities in the area has resulted in tension with the surrounding African-American community in the decades since Menachem Schneerson's death.

The Ohel has become a popular stop for politicians courting the hasidic vote including Donald Trump.

Customs

At the Ohel, visitors have a tradition of writing kvitlach – prayers on small pieces of paper – which are then torn up and tossed onto the graves. The visitor center also receives many wedding invitations for Menachem Schneerson which are read at and/or placed on the graves. In addition to kvitlach, visitors are encouraged to light memorial candles at the Ohel.

Visitors to the Ohel customarily light candles on shelves in the antechamber. Visitors also write letters to Menachem Schneerson beforehand and read them beside the graves, then rip them up and leave them on the graves.

Kohanim

According to Jewish law, a kohen (hereditary Jewish priest) is not allowed to ritually defile himself by entering a cemetery. Halacha mandates that the kohen be a distance of four amahs from a grave unless separated by a fence. The construction of fencing along the pathway leading to it makes it possible for kohanim to enter the Ohel.

At the Ohel itself, the graves are enclosed by 4 walls, but with an open roof to eliminate problems of tumas meis ("impurity from the dead"; see Tumah and taharah) in an enclosure, and a low wall surrounds the graves and keeps the kohen at least 12.59 in away from a tombstone to maintain his ritual purity.

Peak Visitation Days

The Ohel experiences surges in attendance on specific dates that are significant in the Chabad calendar. These days draw tens of thousands of visitors from around the world, who come to pray, reflect, and seek blessings. The most notable peak days include:

• 3rd of Tammuz (Gimmel Tammuz) — The yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. This is the single busiest day of the year at the Ohel, drawing approximately 50,000 visitors.
• 10th of Shevat (Yud Shevat) — The yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn and the day Rabbi Schneerson assumed leadership of the Chabad movement.
• 11th of Nissan — The birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Thousands of Chabad Hasidim and admirers visit the Ohel to mark this occasion.
• 22nd of Shevat — The yahrtzeit of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, wife of the Rebbe.
• 20th of Av — The yahrtzeit of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the Rebbe’s father.

On these dates, the Ohel and its visitor center operate at full capacity with extended accommodations for pilgrims, including increased transportation, food services, and organized prayer programming.

Gallery

בית אהל חבד ליובאוויטש.JPG| Welcome center תפילה זכה באוהל הרבי מליובאוויטש.jpg|Children praying אוהל הרבי מליובאוויטש - מבט מלמעלה.jpg|Aerial view

References

References

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3. (July 8, 2014). "Rebbe to the city and Rebbe to the world". The New York Observer.
4. (July 5, 2019). "In Queens, revered Jewish leader's burial site draws crowds".
5. Dreyfus, Hannah. (June 22, 2015). "50,000 pilgrims throng to Rebbe's grave on death anniversary".
6. (2012). "The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson". Princeton University Press.
7. Horowitz, Craig. (June 19, 1995). "Beyond Belief". [[New York (magazine).
8. (2012). "The Ohel: An overview". Chabad.org.
9. Heilman and Friedman (2012), p. 63.
10. Heilman and Friedman (2012), p. 18.
11. Holloway, Lynette. (March 11, 1995). "Queens Holy Land; Paying Homage at Rebbe's Grave". The New York Times.
12. (May 4, 2012). "Cambria Heights residents oppose Lubavitch synagogue dorm plan".
13. "Trump’s plan to enlist Elon Musk began at Lubavitcher Rebbe’s grave". Forward.
14. Olidort, B.. (June 18, 2007). "At the Ohel". lubavitch.com.
15. (2002). "Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland – An Encyclopedia". [[ABC-CLIO]].
16. (2014). "Appropriate Conduct at the Ohel". Ohel Chabad Lubavitch.
17. Goldstein, Yaakov. (November 28, 2016). "Kohanim". shulchanaruchharav.com.