Term used in various contexts in Jewish sources: for shrines in the Land of Israel associated with biblical events and personalities; for places of pilgrimage associated with revered sites; and for graves (actual or traditional) in Israel and the Diaspora of famous rabbis and wonderworkers. The Hebrew word for holy, kadosh, carries with it the sense of separate and designated (see Holiness). The classic Jewish source for holy places is found in the Mishnah (Kel. 1:6ff.): "There are ten degrees of holiness. The Land of Israel is holier than any other ..." The holiness of the "Holy Land," it is explained, is expressed in the particular
The Jewish holy place par excellence was the Temple in Jerusalem. The Mishnah (ibid.) catalogues a different level of holiness, each with its attendant commandments and restrictions, for each of its precincts. The Temple, whose day-to-day function was primarily sacrificial, was perceived as the unique center to which prayer and national as well as personal devotion could be directed to an omnipresent God whose presence might "invest" a particular place but could never be contained there (see Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple, I Kings 8:12-53, especially verses 27-29).
The Temple was the destination of three yearly Pilgrimages on the occasion of the Pilgrim Festivals. Such aliyah le-regel pilgrimages took place in both biblical and Second Temple times and were a significant feature of national cultural life. During the Second Temple period, pilgrims came from the Diaspora as well as from Erets Israel. The purpose of the pilgrimage was to offer the obligatory sacrifices of the holiday (all of which could be brought only to the Temple). Nevertheless, pilgrimage continued even after the destruction of the Temple (Ned. 23a). Now, sacrifice was impossible and mourning was a significant part of the stay in Jerusalem. Pilgrims, upon seeing the site of the destroyed Temple, would tear their garments and recite, "Our holy Temple, our pride, where our fathers praised You, has been consumed by fire and all that was dear to us is ruined" (Isa. 64:10; MK 26a). Throughout the ages, pilgrimage to Jerusalem, in one form or another, never ceased entirely, although Jewish access to holy places was subject to various restrictions and harassment at different times. Since the halakhah did not permit entry to the actual Temple site, the section known today as the Western Wall, i.e. the southern section of the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount constructed during the time of Herod, eventually became the focus of pilgrimage and worship in Jerusalem. In the modern period, the Western Wall retains its primacy among Jewish holy places. Despite agreements to the contrary, Jews were denied access between 1948 and 1967, when it was in Jordanian hands. With access regained, the Western Wall's significance became not only religious but national, with various military ceremonies, vigils for beleaguered Jewry, etc., taking place there. In the course of time holy places gained ascendance in Jewish life. Such places were clearly seen as more efficacious for the offering of prayer than others. Chief among these, other than the Western Wall, were the grave sites of various holy individuals. Among these, most noteworthy are the Cave of Machpelah, a large Herodian structure located in Hebron, believed to house the burial cave purchased by Abraham (Gen. 23) and in which, according to tradition, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are buried together with their wives (except for Rachel); Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem; and the tomb of David on Mount Zion, which between 1948 and 1967 was the favored Jewish holy place because of its proximity to the Old City of Jerusalem. Other holy sites are located all over the Land of Israel, with concentrations in Jerusalem and Galilee. They include traditional the grave sites of prophets (e.g., Samuel and Zechariah in Jerusalem), sages of the talmudic period (e.g., Simeon Bar Yoḥai in Meron, Akiva in Tiberias, Simeon the Just in Jerusalem), and other scholars and saints (e.g., Isaac Luria in Safed and Maimonides in Tiberias).
Although it is impossible to ascertain the veracity of any but the most recent traditions identifying these sites, all of them are objects of reverence and pilgrimage and the focus of prayer and other ceremonies. A visit to a holy grave was, and in many quarters still is, considered to be beneficial to the visitor, and the Yahrzeit (death anniversary) of the holy man is often the occasion for ceremonies at his grave. Special prayers have been composed for many sites and collected in a work called Sha'aré Dim'ah. The most common expressions of devotion are candle lighting, prostration upon the grave, and leaving written requests on slips of paper. It is not uncommon for individuals and whole families to spend several days camped at the tomb of a revered figure. The tomb of Simeon bar Yoḥai is the site of an annual pilgrimage on Lag Ba-Omer regularly attended by over 100,000 people.
Visits to graves of holy men were considered particularly meritorious by the 16th-century kabbalist school of Safed. The outstanding leader of this group, Isaac Luria, is credited with "revealing" and identifying numerous sites in Galilee. Most of these are graves of sages mentioned in the Talmud. The kabbalistic preoccupation with holy places is believed by scholars to stem from a more transcendent perception of God than was common in the biblical period. The kabbalist, who experiences God's transcendence much more than His immanence, seeks devices that will aid him in his attempt to draw near to his distant Creator. The personality of the departed holy man whose grave is visited, through its example and (perhaps) intervention, serves this function.
While it has been claimed that the accumulation of such sites and more particularly their unique status is a new, perhaps even alien perception, it must be noted that in his prayer at the dedication of the Temple, Solomon requests just this status for the Temple. Nevertheless, it may be argued that outside the Temple itself such a phenomenon is alien (but cf. Gen. 28:11-22). The Bible itself seems to discourage the veneration of the tombs of holy men, the Pentateuch concluding its account of the death of Moses with the remark that his burial site is unknown. Maimonides, moreover, writes that tombstones are not to be erected for the righteous, since their words and deeds are their remembrance. The custom of visiting graves seems to have been introduced under Muslim influence.
A number of Jewish holy places exist outside the Land of Israel, and certain of these have also become the objects of pilgrimage and other customs. Hamadan in Persia is the site of the traditional graves of Esther and Mordecai of the Purim narrative, and the Jews of Babylonia revered the grave of Ezra, located at Shatt-el-Arab near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In Muslim lands, the tombs of revered rabbis became the objects of pilgrimage and even celebration on the death anniversary (see Hillula).
Every Synagogue enjoys the halakhic status of a holy place with attendant regulations. Even synagogues not in use or in ruins are to be treated with reverence. The sale of such structures is a complex issue in Jewish law and often requires consultation with a competent legal authority. Talmudic legend has it that at the end of days, all synagogues outside Erets Israel will be miraculously transferred to the Holy Land (Meg. 29a).
Control of sites holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims within the Land of Israel is determined under a generally acknowledged understanding known simply as the Status Quo, which received international endorsement at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. The British mandatory government respected and enforced the Status Quo and made an effort to finalize it in writing. Points of conflict still remain, however, since it was impossible to find universally agreed upon descriptions of the de facto and de jure status of every holy place. Today the Israel Ministry of Religions is responsible for the maintenance of the country's Jewish holy places, while a special law enacted immediately after the 1967 Six-Day War guarantees respect also for Christian and Muslim holy places under Israeli jurisdiction.
