Tehran, Iran – Rabbi Yisroel Gabay who traveled to Iran last week to visit and preserve the graves of tzadikim, reports that he witnessed holy sites in a state of complete devastation. R’ Gabay went to Bahamadane, south of Teheran, to pay his respects at the graves of Mordechai and Esther where he said “I saw tremendous neglect. There were soccer fields built over the graves of tzadikim.”
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R’ Gabay also visited the grave of Prophet Chabakuk, located in the middle of traffic in the city square of what is known to be the ancient city of Shushan.
This may be the last opportunity R’ Gabay will have to pray at the graves of Esther and Mordechai as some news reports recently suggested that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened to destroy them completely. The Jewish community is attempting to preserve these holy sites and while R’ Gabay reports that the Jews in Iran are very much afraid and in need of assistance, a community representative said “Hashem is the leader of the world and He will watch over us.”
R’ Gabay has made numerous visits to Arab countries to rescue endangered graves despite the dangers involved and has traveled to Gaza and even Lebanon at the height of the war there. Dressed in the garb of a religious Jew and speaking Hebrew, he explains that while locals wonder what he is doing, they have caused him no trouble at all.
“They ask me what I am doing here and I tell them I want to pray. In the end, they ask me to pray for them as well.”
Quoting the Zohar, R’ Gabay explains why he has devoted so much of his time to preserving the graves of tzadikim. “We here are alive today through the merit of these departed tzadikim who are up above, praying for us.”
There are meany kevorim in EY and the U.S. of great tzadikim and gadolim which are in the same or even worse condition yet they are ignored and starved for funding needed for perpetual care. Start at home and only then worry about those that are buried in remote areas.
He obviously could not have gone to Iran without the express consent from Ahmadenijad. No one enters or wanders Iran without the Governments permission. They knew he was there and it was most likely a sanctioned trip.
It is a great thing to save the old cemetaries and graves. While there are many graves in Israel to take care of, that shouldn’t prevent someone to reach out elsewhere. It is not contradictory.
We are talking about the graves of Mordechai and Esther, you wouldnt be alive today if it wasnt for them. Are you normal?
Have some respect and give some $$, we dont need excuses, let everyone give and then worry about whom they give to. If everyone would only give at least 10% we would have ALOT more tzadakah to go around!
I wonder if a person can put himself into a מקום סכנה for something like this. Don’t get me wrong, I think what Reb Yisrael is doing is noble, and I’m not even questioning whether these are indeed the actual קברים of the נפטרים. Just seems odd to me.
I am familiar with the tradition may iranian jews have regarding the resting place of Mordechai and Ester, however didn’t mordechai return to E.Y. after the story of Purim ?
Furthermore why would the persian royalty allow the ‘Queen mom’-Ester (mother of Darius II) to be burried next to a jewish cousin and not in a royal burial ground?
The story sounds a little too convenient. Too contrived. Probaby an attempt by the old persian community to affirm their antiquity by being witness to Mordechai and Ester’s resting place.
You mean like living in Neve Aliza?
too dangerous to anywhere right now. he has to get out qiuckly.
In the books about kvarim in Eretz Yisroel, there is a kever for Mordechai and Esther in the Galil, maybe Golan (I don’t recall). Not that I believe much of these kvorim in eretz yisroel are in fact the real place. With the exception of kever Rochel and MeOras HaMachpela which have a full “mesorah” from the Arabs, most are based on vague discriptions. Such as, near tzfas next to a mountain, I saw two rocks that were rectangels and there is the kever of ZZZ”. We have to remember that we are in golus and for most of the past 2 mellenia there were no Jews there. So the mesorah is based on vague maps and direction.
On the other hand how did a frum Jew go to Iran just to “find” the kvorim of Mordechai and Esther… seems awefully suspicious to me. Either he is from the NK or the Mossad. Not sure which one.