Har HaMenuchot (Hebrew: הר המנוחות), also known as Givat Shaul Cemetery, is by far the largest cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel.
The Hebrew name "Har HaMenuchot" translates to "Mount of Those Who are Resting". It's a fitting name, since the cemetery is perched on the hillside above the western edge of the city with views of Mevaseret Zion to the north, Motza to the west, and the neighborhood of Har Nof to the south.
The cemetery spans approximately 250 acres and is the burial site of more than 170,000 individuals.
HistoryHistory
Established in 1951, following the War of Independence, Har HaMenuchot Cemetery was created to provide a final resting place for the Jewish soldiers who died during the conflict.
Jerusalem has traditionally been the most sought-after location for burial in Israel, but space in the city is increasingly difficult to obtain. The two major cemeteries in Jerusalem are the Mount of Olives, in the eastern part of the city and overlooking the Old City, and Har Hamenuchot, at the western entrance to the city.
Due to Judaism's emphasis on eternal burial, with no disinterment, cemetery space in Jerusalem is nearly gone. In an effort to solve this problem, a massive underground catacombs with more than 24,000 new burial plots was opened in 2019.
Cemetery sectionsCemetery sections
Cemetery founders designated separate sections of the cemetery for the Ashkenazim (also known as Perushim), Sephardim, and Hasidic communities of Jerusalem.
Later, sections were added to serve the Kurdish, Georgian, Yemenite, and Bukharan Jewish communities. There is also a section for atheists, but burials of Muslims or Christians at Har HaMenuchot Cemetery is forbidden.
Gravesite descriptionGravesite description
As is common in Jewish cemeteries, most of the gravesites at Har HaMenuchot consist of rectangular concrete monuments covered with stone tiles. The bodies are actually buried underground, beneath the platforms.
Names, dates, and epitaphs are inscribed on the top and side panels. Letters and numbers engraved on the tiles are frequently painted for better visibility or sometimes filled with black lead for durability. Small niches are often carved into the box for memorial candles.
It is traditional for Jewish visitors to place a rock on the grave of a loved one each time they visit the gravesite to show that that they have been there and that the individual’s memory continues to live on in and through them. It is an acknowledgment that the deceased has not been forgotten.[1]
While some stones are placed randomly in a pile, others are elaborately arranged to create pictures.
Jewish gravestones may be vertical or horizontal, depending on the subgroup to which the deceased belonged. The two main Jewish cultural subgroups are Sephardic and Ashkenazic.
The ancestors of Sephardic Jews came from Spain, Portugal, North Africa, and the Middle East. And the ancestors of the Ashkenazic Jews came from France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russian and other Eastern European nations.
Most Sephardic Jewish gravestones are horizontal rectangular slabs. While the most traditional tombstone style for Ashkenazic Jews is a vertical slab with a rounded or pointed top.
Burial practices and operationsBurial practices and operations
Israeli citizens and tourists who die while in Israel receive burial plots for free at Har HaMenuchot Cemetery. Their burial plots, as well as funeral services, are paid for by Bituach Leumi, the National Insurance Institute.
However, those who want a specific burial plot, for instance next to a spouse, must pay for it themselves. According to the law, plots on both sides of a freshly dug grave must be left vacant for 90 days in order to give the spouse and relatives of the deceased the option to purchase the sites. Stone monuments must also be purchased by the family of the deceased.
About 25% of the burials at Har HaMenuchot Cemetery come from Jewish people who have lived abroad and have their bodies transported back to Jerusalem after death.
Miriam's grave for childless womenMiriam's grave for childless women
Childless women often visit the grave of Miriam ha-Koveset (Hebrew: מרים הכובסת, Miriam the Laundress), a washer-woman who worked in the homes of Torah scholars, including Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the Zvhiller Rebbe, and Rabbi Shlomo Goldman.
During her lifetime, Miriam asked the Zvhiller Rebbe for a blessing to be able to bear children.[2] He declined, but instead blessed her that based on her merit, others would be blessed to have children. In 1964, twenty-nine years after Miriam's death, one of her neighbors had a dream in which Miriam told her of the promise and gave directions to her grave.
That same year, on Miriam's yahrzeit (the anniversary of her death date), busloads of barren women came to pray at her grave. Before Miriam's next yahrzeit, at least 32 of those women gave birth to children. Since that time, Miriam's grave, has been renovated and enlarged to accommodate women who come year-round to visit and pray for children.
GPS photo documentation at Har HaMenuchot CemeteryGPS photo documentation at Har HaMenuchot Cemetery
In 2019, Israeli genealogy company MyHeritage announced that all of the cemeteries in Israel had been documented using the BillionGraves app. With this announcement, Israel became the first country in the world to document all of its nation's cemeteries.
At the outset of the project, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage Gilad Japhet said,
“Gravestones are among the most valuable information sources for family history research, and although there are many thousands of cemeteries worldwide, most of them have never been documented, and their information is not available online. Time is chipping away at the gravestones and many are becoming unreadable over the years, so it’s up to our generation to preserve them.[3]
Har HaMenuchot was one of the cemeteries that was documented in Israel.
Every time a photo is taken of of a gravestone with the BillionGraves app, it is automatically tagged with a GPS location. This allows family members searching for an ancestor’s gravestone to walk straight to it. GPS coordinates also serve as a guide for photographers, allowing them to see which gravestones have already been documented. Family history researchers use the BillionGraves website to find additional family members buried near their ancestors.
Notable BurialsNotable Burials
- Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (1920–2013); Former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel; His funeral drew over 800,000 mourners, one of the largest in Israeli history.
- Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri (c. 1898–2006); Sephardic Kabbalist who lived to be about 108 years old; 300,000 attended his funeral and the President of Israel spoke at his funeral
- Ofra Haza (1957 - 2000); internationally acclaimed Israeli singer and actress; known for blending Yemenite Jewish musical traditions with modern pop; renown for her song “Im Nin’Alu.”
See alsoSee also
Explore more about famous cemeteriesExplore more about famous cemeteries
- Cemetery Records Worldwide, BillionGraves in MyHeritage Catalog Collection
- The Seven Largest Cemeteries in the World, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 Cemeteries to See Before You Die, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 of the World's Most Beautiful Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 Things You Don’t Know About Cemeteries, Legacy Family Tree Webinars
