UPDATED POST:

The levaya for Aaron Sofer z"l will be tomorrow, at 9:30am.

The levaya will be leaving from his yeshiva in the Ezras Torah neighborhood of Jerusalem, and the kevura will be in the Eretz Hachaim cemetery outside of Bet Shemesh.

I heard from a number of people that the Iron Dome will be protecting the Sharon funeral today in Southern Israel. Yes, it is true and is in the news.

The added point is that plenty of people seem to think it would be fitting, because Sharon gave away Gaza, for Kassam rockets (or Grads also perhaps), to fall during the funeral. God forbid to hurt anyone - to be shot down by Iron Dome or to land in open areas, of course. The irony of Sharon having given away Gaza and now his funeral being threatened by rockets from Gaza tickled some people pink. And not just his funeral, but Sharon's grave will from now on be within range of falling Kassam rockets. It is not just an issue of some people being tickled pink , but also some are concerned that now there is a "national target" for the Hamas shooters..

Personally I hope no rockets are shot - not during the funeral and not anywhere else or at any other time. I fail to see why it is worse for them to shoot rockets at a grave site than at people living in houses in Sderot or in the towns and villages in the region. Sharon's grave being disturbed is a horrible thought, but people's lives being disturbed and threatened is, in my opinion , more of a concern.

I went to the funeral of Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt"l. Rav Ovadia was one of the gedolim and a great leader to his followers, and the massive crowds that attended the funeral, wherever the actual figure is in the range of 600k to 1 million people, attested to that.

Despite my being present, I really had no idea what was going on. I could not hear the hespedim or the proceedings, and my impressions and observations were only about the massive crowds in attendance.

Some views from my vantage point:







and then there is this crazy one being shown on various media... of people davening in and around the grave prior to the burial. It seems to be some sort of segulah for long life.





Yehi Zichro Baruch

Which story do you think is crazier - the fuzzy glasses that were patented and are being sold to some kooks in order to avoid seeing women, or the following story?

Bechadrei is reporting that in the middle of the night last Thursday night a body was exhumed from the Sanhedria cemetery and transferred for reburial in Har HaZeisim, the Mount of Olives.

The reason for the exhumation was due to this person, described as a well-known "person of chessed" of Jerusalem, having been granted new neighbors that were inappropriate to be buried next to. Since he had been buried in his plot 8 years ago, a secular woman and other secular people who have died since.

Even though the fellow had left in his dying wishes that he wants to be buried in Sanhedria, his family was disturbed because of his new neighbors. His family went to various gedolim and rabbonim, including Rav Elyashiv shortly before his illness that left him in a hospital for 5 months, Rav Wosner, Rav Ovadiah Yosef, and Rav Tuvia Weiss of the Eida.

Upon reburial, they were instructed to place a note in the grave asking for forgiveness for having disturbed his rest in the transfer.

It is amazing that being buried next to someone who was mechalel shabbos is a strong enough reason to justify an exhumation. To not be buried in the first place, I know there is a clear preference. But to order a reburial, that is something new to me.

I am not sure the significance of this additional mention, but the article says that the chevra kadhisha of Kehillas Yerushalayim denies any involvement, though they say it actually did happen but had not been coordinated with them. The chevra kadisha of "Chassidim" also denied any involvement. I would assume if they denied it that there was a different chevra kadisha involved. I don't know why they needed to be asked or issue a denial. Who cares which chevra kadisha was involved?

Bechadrei has updated the story with more details, saying that the graves immediately adjacent to the dead fellow had already been populated before he had died, so when he got his plot he already knew, and seemingly had no problem with it, that he would be buried next to secular people.
And, the issue of the chevra kadisha is one of a possible "hasagas gvul". If the family used a chevra kadisha that overstepped its bounds and worked in someone else's "territory, there might be room for a claim against them, though the rep they spoke with says the issue will not be taken further.

Now this is a crazy story! the fuzzy glasses is just stupidity.


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I went to the levaya of Rav Elyashiv last night. There was a very large crowd there, but ti seemed strange to me. It did not feel like a funeral. I've been to large funerals before - Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach's funeral supposedly had in the range of 600,000 people while the news is reporting between 250,000 and 300,000 at Rav Elyashiv's.. - so it was not the size. For some reason, all over, people were chatting, laughing, and having a good time, myself included, while waiting for the main part of the procession to approach. It seemed more like a large social gathering than a funeral.

Here are some images I snapped with my cellphone at the funeral..

somebody, or some organization, had these buckets of bug juice and water and piles of cups, all for free. a great chessed on a hot night in the crowds

big crowds, people took up vantage points wherever they could, even on top of buildings..

kids standing on the median fence trying to get a good view

men were also standing on the fence to get a good view

and on top of the bus stops....

this guy was bellowing out a call to donate tzedaka - screaming something in yiddishe about the decree of the draft. I am not sure why the possible draft has anything to do with tzedaka, but people were donating..

Rav Elyashiv's neshama should be a meilitz yosher...

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Picture Of The Day

levaya of Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel

My son came back a little while ago from the levaya of Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz zt"l in Bnei Braq. His yeshiva, like many yeshivas, got a bus and took the boys to the levaya to show respect to one of the great roshei yeshiva of our generation and escort him to burial.

My son told me about the sheer masses of people, the number of buses from different yeshivas, who came to pay their respects.

However, I like the more human touches to such events, rather than just the bland, albeit impressive, reports of what happened. Interestingly, my son told me that only his two sons eulogized him, as per his wishes, and then only briefly with minimal praise.

Another interesting point he said is that according to his wishes, the only people allowed to be pallbearers, to help carry the body, were men over the age of 30, and they had to have gone to the mikve before the funeral. He told me that his friend was near the body at some point as it was being carried. The friend saw someone let go of the meeta, the stretcher upon which the body rests, so he maneuvered his way in to grab hold and have the  zchus of helping carry the rosh yeshivas body. As soon as he got hold of it, people started screaming, hitting and pushing him away, as his grabbing hold was against the wishes of the rosh yeshiva. he immediately let go as he was pushed aside.

Picture of The Day

a view of the crowd at Rav Lefkowitz's funeral today in Bnei Braq

I am not sure what to think of this story - a woman is suing the chevra kadisha of Netanya, for 32,000 NIS, for "forcing" her and other women to stand separate from the men at the funeral of a friend.

Ynetnews has the story:

A resident of Netanya recently filed a suit for NIS 32,000 (roughly $9,000) against Chevra Kadisha after she was asked to stand separate from men in a funeral she attended. "This is discriminatory and is against our world view," she claimed.


Susan Ayad said that last January she attended the funeral of a close friend in a Netanya cemetery. As they gathered in the eulogy square the mourners were shocked discover that large planters dividing the floor into two parts.


"The rabbi holding the service on behalf of Chevra Kadisha asked the men to stand on one side of the partition and the women to stand on the other side," the claim stated.


"Despite the objection of many of the mourners we avoided causing a stir in light of the sensitivity of the event and reluctantly adhered the rabbi's instruction. I was also forced to move to the women's side and was separated from my acquaintances."


Insult and rage
Ayad claims the forced separation sparked feelings of humiliation, rage and insult. "I don't understand how in a public place such as a cemetery someone can order me where to stand just because I'm a woman."


She consequently filed a suit with the Netanya Small Claims Curt against Chevra Kadisha with the help of the Progressive Judaism Movement's legal aid services.


The claim states that the segregation does not only hurt women but all those present at cemeteries seeking to spend time with loved ones.


Ayad referred the court to Israel's anti-discrimination law which was the basis for a claim against bus segregation. She motioned the court to order Chevra Kadisha to pay NIS 31,900 in compensation.


Elements at the Progressive Judaism's pluralism center called on anyone who experienced a similar act of discrimination to approach them, suggesting there may be a more extensive campaign on the issue.

While a funeral is not really a prayer service, though kaddish is said, it is common to at least stand separately during the eulogies, though often that is without barriers placed demarcating the separation. It is also fairly common that there is no formal separation. It seems to generally be up to the discretion of the chevra kadisha and/or the family.

The article also does not say the family was or was not religious, nor does it say if the family wanted it or not. the only comment seems to be of a friend. I wonder if the family had wanted the separation, would she sue the family for forcing segregation upon her?

So, I don't know what to think. Is it right or wrong to have such a separation at a funeral? It is common, but must it be so? Is it cause for a lawsuit?

Going to a funeral in Jerusalem is always an experience. Especially when it is on Har Hazeisim. Granted, there are places most people would rather be than a funeral, but once you have to go to one, it is an experience.

Minhag Yerushalayim. The chevra kadishas of Jerusalem follow minhagim that people don't do in most other places.

I just went the other day to a funeral on Har HaZeisim. The chevra kadisha was the chevra kadisha of k'hal hachassidim. So they use minhag Yerushalayim, but they also do some other stuff.

They did some stuff there that I had never seen before. Allow me to describe it,to the best of my abilities...

We brought the body of the niftar to the grave. They placed the body on the floor, next to the grave, and asked the women to stay back and not come past a certain point until they would finish what they have to do. After saying some psukim, the members of the chevra kadisha surrounded the body (still laying on the ground), connected in a circle holding hands completely surrounding the body. Then they started encircling the body while saying some psukim. Each time they completed a circle, they would all stop, and the head guy would say some psukim, take a small piece of metal (I don't know what it was) out of his pocket, put it on the body for a moment and then throw it far away.

They would then encircle the body again, and go through the same thing. They did this 4 or 5 times....

Another minhag I had never seen was when we finished the burial. After the grave was filled in, they surrounded the grave completely with a border of stones. They were makpid that each stone had to be touching the one beside it.

I thought these minhagim were very strange and I have never before seen them.

Has anybody seen that before? Do you know what it means and the explanation for what they were doing?