Tzaddik Graves in Poland - Places of Pilgrimage

Rabbi Moshe ben Israel Isserles, known by the acronym Rema (c. 1530 - 1572), was the rabbi of Krakow and head of its yeshiva, and the foremost halakhic authority for Ashkenazi Jewry. His work HaMapah ("The Tablecloth") is a set of Ashkenazi glosses on Yosef Karo's Shulchan Aruch. Since 1578 every edition of the Shulchan Aruch has included HaMapah - and through that union it became the universally accepted code of Jewish law.

The Rema rests in the Remuh Cemetery in Kazimierz, right beside the Remuh Synagogue founded by his father with the consent of King Sigismund II Augustus. His is the only grave in the cemetery that was not destroyed during the Second World War. To this day Jews from all over the world come to his tombstone and leave kvitlach - small notes with requests.

Rabbi Elimelech Weisblum of Lizhensk (d. 1787), author of "Noam Elimelech", was one of the founders of Hasidism in this part of Europe and the teacher of a generation of Hasidic leaders. His ohel in the Jewish cemetery of Lezajsk is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Poland - on his yahrzeit (21 Adar) crowds of Hasidim arrive from around the world.

Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz, known as the Seer of Lublin (the Chozeh, d. 1815), was one of the leading masters of early Hasidism in Poland; a generation of future tzaddikim gathered around him. His grave is in the old Jewish cemetery in Lublin and remains a place of pilgrimage, especially on his yahrzeit (9 Av).

Rabbi Chaim Halberstam (1793-1876), known as the "Divrei Chaim" after the title of his works, was the rabbi of Nowy Sacz (Sanz) and founder of the Sanz dynasty - one of the leading Talmudists, poskim, and Kabbalists of his era. Later dynasties descend from his family, including Sanz-Klausenburg and Bobov. He rests in Nowy Sacz, and his ohel remains a place of pilgrimage. Yahrzeit: 25 Nisan.

Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter (1799-1866), the "Chiddushei HaRim", founded the Ger (Gur) dynasty - one of the largest Hasidic dynasties - which he led after the death of the Kotzker Rebbe. A distinguished Talmudist, he rests in Gora Kalwaria, where Ger Hasidim still come today. Yahrzeit: 23 Adar.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk (1787-1859) was one of the most remarkable masters of Hasidism - known for his sharp, uncompromising sayings and his impatience with false piety. For the last twenty years of his life he lived in seclusion; he was the spiritual foundation on which the Ger dynasty was built. He rests in Kock.

Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam (d. 1905), grandson of the "Divrei Chaim", was the first Bobover Rebbe and founder of the dynasty in Bobowa. Bobov is today one of the larger Hasidic dynasties in the world, and the Jewish cemetery in Bobowa, with the ohels of its rebbes, remains a place of pilgrimage.

Rabbi David Biderman (c. 1746-1814), "David Lelover", was one of the early masters of Hasidism and founder of the Lelov dynasty. He rests in the old Jewish cemetery in Lelow, in an ohel rebuilt in 1988 after its destruction during the communist era. Although the Lelov Hasidic community moved to Israel, on his yahrzeit (late January / c. 7 Shevat) pilgrims still come from around the world - with prayer, singing, and a shared Shabbat meal.

Przysucha is the cradle of the influential "school of Peshischa". Two of its masters rest here: the "Holy Jew" (Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz), a disciple of the Seer of Lublin, and Simcha Bunim of Peshischa (c. 1765-1827) - regarded as one of the most important Jewish thinkers of the Napoleonic era, who merged rationalism with Hasidic spirituality, emphasizing personal authenticity and individual responsibility. Their ohels in the Przysucha Jewish cemetery remain places of pilgrimage. It is here that the line begins: Peshischa → Kotzk → Ger.

Aleksandrow Lodzki was the seat of the Aleksander Hasidic dynasty - one of the largest in interwar Poland - founded by Rabbi Yechiel Danziger (d. 1894). The ohels of its rebbes in the Aleksandrow Lodzki Jewish cemetery remain a place of pilgrimage, and the town is a natural link to Jewish Lodz.