Customs
At the Ohel, visitors have a tradition of writing kvitlach — prayers on small pieces of paper — which are then torn up and tossed onto the graves. In the visitor’s center, a fax machine receives over 700 faxes a day, while a computer receives 400 e-mails daily. These kvitlach are all printed and then taken to the graves, where they are torn into shreds and placed atop the graves. When the pile grows too high, the shredded notes are burned. The visitor’s center also receives many wedding invitations for the Rebbe; these invitations are read at and/or placed on the graves. In addition to kvitlach, visitors are encouraged to light memorial candles at the Ohel.
The Ohel website advises visitors to wear modest clothing, cover the head with a hat (men) or head-covering (women), and avoid wearing leather shoes. When leaving, visitors walk backwards as a sign of respect.
Read more about this topic: Ohel (Chabad)
Famous quotes containing the word customs:
“O Kate, nice customs curtsy to great kings. Dear Kate, you
and I cannot be confined within the weak list of a country’s
fashion. We are the makers of manners, Kate.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“We set up a certain aim, and put ourselves of our own will into the power of a certain current. Once having done that, we find ourselves committed to usages and customs which we had not before fully known, but from which we cannot depart without giving up the end which we have chosen. But we have no right, therefore, to claim that we are under the yoke of necessity. We might as well say that the man whom we see struggling vainly in the current of Niagara could not have helped jumping in.”
—Anna C. Brackett (1836–1911)
“Thus far women have been the mere echoes of men. Our laws and constitutions, our creeds and codes, and the customs of social life are all of masculine origin. The true woman is as yet a dream of the future. A just government, a humane religion, a pure social life await her coming.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)