Our Mosdos
Maintenance and Upkeep of the Kever:
The kever of Rabi Meir Baal Haness draws Jews of all stripes and colors from all over the world. Men, women and children flock to the Tana‘s gravesite to pour out their hearts and daven for themselves, their children, family members or friends. At all times of the year, the tzion is humming with visitors who wish to take advantage of the place that is so well-known for the yeshuos that it affects and for being that place where Hashem accepts the prayers of His precious children. It is, after all, the burial site of the Tana who said “no matter what [whether they sinned or not], they are called ‘sons’.”
The Ohr Torah institutions, located above the burial site, are the ones who care for the site and its guests, physically and spiritually. They are the ones who ensure that there are ample benches and seats for the learners and daveners, bookshelves and sefarim shranks for the sefarim and thousands of sifrei Tehillim that are constantly replenished, and more.
The site is clean and properly maintained, as a holy place like this should be. Visitors enjoy a spacious, well-lit, air-conditioned hall, a coffee corner, a large parking lot, and of course, electricity and water. The women’s section, where the Tana‘s talmidim Sumchus and Rabi Shimon ben Elazar are buried, has also been renovated, with new lighting installed.
It is Ohr Torah which takes care of all this maintenance and upkeep using donated money.
Davening at the entrance of the burial cave, visitors are overwhelmed with a feeling of connection to previous generations, to the chain of mesorah which passed the Torah down from the holy Tanaim and through the generations until our own hands today. Here, it is easy to feel that "Am Yisrael chai!"
The Hachnasas Orchim
In consideration of the visitors who flock to the gravesite of the Tana Rabi Meir Baal Haness, Ohr Torah built a refreshments room with hot and cold drinks available at all times.
Visitors, who sometimes travel for long distances in the summer heat or in winter rains, find a well-heated or air-conditioned room to refresh and rejuvenate.
On every erev rosh chodesh and other times, cookies and light refreshments are served too to satisfy the many visitors and prompt more brachos and “amen“s at the site.
Hachnasas orchim is a mitzvah that has long been recognized for its power in affecting yeshuos, and many people were answered after donating to the refreshments corner, helping to provide food and drinks to the visitors of Rabi Meir Baal Haness.
Yeshivas Ohr Torah
In Yeshivas Ohr Torah, dozens of talmidei chachamim and ovdei Hashem pore over their studies at all hours of the day and night, in the manner set by the rabbanim and rashei yeshivah.
The rabbanim of the yeshivah conduct a special Mishnayos and Kaddish session l’iluy nishmas niftarim on the first year following their passing at the family’s request.
G-d-fearing talmidei chachamim hold regular prayers at the gravesite of the Tana Rabi Meir Baal Haness for both communal and individual needs, mentioning and davening for the donors who help support the yeshivah.
In addition, there are “yamim hamesugalim” – opportune times during which special tefillos are recited at the yeshivah for a particular request – shidduchim, children, hatzlachah, abundant parnassah, and more.
The yeshivah was established 120 years ago, in 5660, by the gaon hatzaddik Rav Moshe Klirs, rav of Tveriah, president of the mosdos and rosh yeshivah of Ohr Torah.
The Kollel
At the kollel, established by Mosdos Ohr Torah, dozens of avreichim sit and learn from morning to night, almost ceaselessly, expending tremendous effort to achieve full grasp and clarity in their learning. This was precisely the goal of the founders of the yeshivah – to build up avreichim who will grow to be bnei Aliyah, familiar with the Torah’s many fields, Gemara and its mefarshim in iyun and bekius, Rambam, Tur and Shulchan Aruch, all with great grasp and clarity – and learning halachah le’maaseh.
The Kollel is generating a new generation of rabbanim and morei hora’ah who will be able to lead the nation and answer its questions in halachah.
It is an immeasurable zechus to support these budding talmidei chachamim. The avreichim at the kollel daven at the gravesite of the Tana for brachah and yeshuah and for any request sent to them by the donors who help support the kollel.
Batei Midrash
In 1867, the structure over the kever of the Tana Rabi Meir Baal Haness was built – a shul called “Kosnos Ohr”.
Later, Ohr Torah built additional shuls and batei midrash in the Kiryat Shmuel neighborhood, which turned out to be the conduits for the development and expansion of the city of Tveriah. The shuls serve hundreds of daveners which include both the city’s residents as well as the many guests who come to Tveriah on all days of the week, and sounds of prayer constantly reverberate inside their walls.
In Rabi Meir's Torah teachings, he wrote "kosnos ohr" – with an aleph (translating as "light") instead of with an ayin (which would translate as "leather", the original, literal meaning of the term). Certainly, in his resting place one can taste the "light" of Torah and climb to ever higher levels of Torah lishmah.
Requests for Prayers
Send us your name and information, and we will daven
for you at the site (for a paid davening request, fill in the information in the pop-up window).