The Kevorim of Mordechai and Esther

Rav Yisroel Gabay of Yerushalayim, who has devoted his life to restoring and protecting kevorim, went to Iran last week to check on kivrei tzaddikim there. He visited Hamadan, south of Tehran, where the kevorim of Mordechai and Esther are located.

“I saw neglect. There was a soccer field on the graves of the tzaddikim,” Rav Gabay related. He visited the kever of the novi Chavakuk, located in the the ancient city of Shushan, and the kever of the novi Doniel. With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatening to destroy the ancient graves, this was perhaps the last time that Rav Gabbay will have had the opportunity to visit the kevorim, which the Jewish community is trying to preserve. “The community is frightened and we must help them,” said Rav Gabay.

During his visits to Arab countries, amazingly, Rav Gabay wears his regular attire, rather than hiding and disguising himself. He walks around with his tzitzis exposed as well. “They asked me what I am doing here and I say that I have come to daven. And they ultimately ask that I pray for them too.”