Kever Avot – 5781 – Individual Observance

For centuries, perhaps millennia, Jews have visited the graves of their ancestors between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. In many North American Jewish communities, there is a traditional observance of Kever Avot (Graves of the Ancestors) where the community gathers in the Jewish cemetery and visits the graves of loved ones and community members, and reads Psalms, prayers and poems. It is a time to honor those who are no longer among us and to consider life’s transience and how precious life is. It is often, also a time to schmooze and meet community members.