To the editor:
I’m told that in the Jewish communities of the Old World, it was common for people to pray at Jewish cemeteries at random times, whenever they felt the pious need to do so. Cemeteries are deemed “hallowed ground” and a gravesite where a righteous person is buried is deemed an especially propitious place for prayer.
Understandably, the days before the “Judgment Days” of Rosh Hashanah (Sept. 6-8) and 10 days later during “Yom Kippur” are considered important days for prayer and good deeds.
The Hebrew month of Elul (roughly August into September) is the month preceding Rosh Hashanah. Extra prayer is added to the standard liturgy in the month of Elul and Jews start visiting graves of relatives and loved ones.
The standard prayer recited at graves during Elul asks that the soul be granted perfect peace and be bound to eternal life. I would make this theological distinction: that although we may pray to the souls to pray to God for us, we do not pray to the souls to directly answer our prayers.
Hersh Goldman
Swampscott
