Grave of hassidic master found in Ukraine in ‘coronavirus' renovations
Since his arrival to Berditchev in 2002, Chabad emissary Rabbi Moshe Thaler has worked to restore the cemetery.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINTomb of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev in Ukraine. (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The grave of the great hassidic master Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev was uncovered by chance in the Ukrainian city where he lived and died, the magazine Mishpacha reported on Wednesday.The rabbi (1740-1809) was one of the closest students of the Rabbi Dov Ber (“The Great Maggid”) of Mezritch, the successor of the legendary founder of the hassidic movement Baal Shem Tov.While the first two sages did not really leave their teachings in writings, the next generation of students are credited to have spread the spiritual movement all over eastern Europe, sparking a deep Jewish renewal. Levi Yitzhak authored the influential “Kedusha Levi” and became known as the “defender of Israel” because according to tradition he was always ready to see the good in what his fellow Jews were doing, even when they appeared to go astray.The memory of the exact location of the burial site had been lost for eighty years.Graves of prominent rabbis are often placed in structures referred to as “ohalim” small buildings that emphasized their importance and role. Visiting and praying over these graves is a popular Jewish tradition.A few years before the Holocaust, local Jews demolished the ohel and covered the traces of the grave of the rabbi and his three sons in the city’s Jewish cemetery to protect them from destruction and vandalism.Since his arrival to Berditchev in 2002, Chabad emissary Rabbi Moshe Thaler has worked to restore the cemetery.The graves were uncovered under the structure that was built where Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev was previously believed to have been buried.“We decided to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis to carry on some renovation works in the building,” Thaler explained in an interview to radio Kol Chai. “As we were working, we uncovered traces of the walls of an old ohel. We slowly continue to excavate until we reached the pavement and we found the four tombs.”The family of Levi Yitzhak also presents a connection to the Chabad hassidut: one of the master’s grandsons married the daughter of the second rebbe of Chabad, Dovber Schneuri, the first one who lived in the town Lyubavichi, also known as Lubavitch.“Now those who come will be able to visit the original grave,” Thaler said.
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