An ohel (Hebrew for "tent") is a small masonry structure built over the grave of a Hasidic rebbe, an important rabbi, or another prominent tzaddik, marking the site as distinct from an ordinary matzevah headstone and typically including room for visitors to pray, meditate and light candles. Ohelim are visited especially on the anniversary of the tzaddik's death and on other significant occasions, continuing a practice most visibly maintained today at the Ohel of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Queens, New York.
Facts
Use
Who May Handle ItAnyone; it is offered to the public 1 ConsecrationBlessed before use, without a rite of consecration 1 Identity
Category of Sacred ObjectA structure built over a grave, especially of a revered rabbi, as a site of pilgrimage and prayer. 1 Attributions
TraditionJudaism, chiefly Hasidic practice 1 Connections
Associated With
This source names New York directly: "of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Queens, New York."
Source Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd editionMichael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.)
Belongs to Tradition
Source Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd editionMichael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.)
Related To
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd edition
Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.), Macmillan Reference USA, 2007s.v. ohelView the Source The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
John Bowker (ed.), Oxford University Press, 1997on Hasidic veneration of tzadikimView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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