# Stones on a grave (Jewish question)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stones-on-a-grave-jewish-question/403046>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 7, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stones-on-a-grave-jewish-question/403046 "2007-05-07T01:01:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stones-on-a-grave-jewish-question/403046/1 "2007-05-07T01:01:59Z")

</div>

I’ve just watched _Schindler’s List_ again. At the end surviving \*Schindlerjuden laid rocks on his grave. What is the significance of that?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stones-on-a-grave-jewish-question/403046/2 "2007-05-07T01:12:51Z")

</div>

It’s a long-standing custom. Israel’s ground is rocky soil, and before the Industrial Revolution digging in such ground was tough. As I understand matters, bodies were normally buried in half graves, and stones piled on top. As a reminder of this practice, Jews place a stone on a grave when they visit the grave.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stones-on-a-grave-jewish-question/403046/3 "2007-05-07T01:14:15Z")

</div>

[Link to multiple articles](http://www.jewish-funerals.org/stones.htm)

Here are some articles on the subject- I only skimmed a couple so YMMV.

The sites that links to thme looks very good, though.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stones-on-a-grave-jewish-question/403046/4 "2007-05-07T02:10:12Z")

</div>

Thanks for the factual answers.

Now for the joke: Did you hear about the guy whose mother-in-law died? When the funeral director asked what kind of monument he wanted for her, he said ‘Something big and _heavy!_’

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stones-on-a-grave-jewish-question/403046/5 "2007-05-07T02:55:25Z")

</div>

I’ve walked in the Jewish cemetery here in Victoria, and there were stones on the graves there, too. It was a tangible reminder that someone was there, thinking about the dead.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stones-on-a-grave-jewish-question/403046/6 "2007-05-07T07:37:23Z")

</div>

It’s a nomad thing. So long as passerbys place fresh stones, the gravesite won’t be lost, and the deceased won’t be forgotten. It’s a _very_ old custom.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stones-on-a-grave-jewish-question/403046/7 "2007-05-07T19:55:53Z")

</div>

I take stones with me whenever I visit a Holocaust memorial, and my kids and I leave them (Boston, SF, NYC, etc).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stones-on-a-grave-jewish-question/403046/8 "2007-05-07T20:17:02Z")

</div>

I grew up near a small Jewish cemetery. I don’t recall seeing rocks, but I do recall seeing seashells and sea dollars. Is this a related custom or something else?

Jim