Where is the burial place of Mordechai and Esther—Persia or the Land of Israel? >>> The different traditions regarding their burial >>> Rabbi Berland shlit"a’s approach to the subject

Pilgrims and Jewish travelers point to the burial place of Mordechai and Esther in the city of Hamadan in Persia (today Iran), and also to several locations in the Land of Israel. In the Upper Galilee, in the forest near the village of Bar’am, there is a gravesite marker to this day that is identified as their resting place. In addition, their burial place is mentioned in the Shomron, in Awarta, in Tzfat, and in Tiberias—but in those locations there is no trace of their graves today.

Pilgrims who identify their burial place in Hamadan, Persia

In the city of Hamadan in the country of Persia (today Iran) there is an ancient, magnificent structure, and inside it are two grave-markers for Mordechai and Esther. This place has been considered holy for prayer for about 850 years. The first traveler to mention this site is Rabbi Binyamin of Tudela (Travels of Binyamin) in the year 4,939, as well as Rabbi Yaakov, emissary of Rabbeinu Yechiel of Paris. After them, this place remained known throughout the generations until today. This past month, Rabbi Berland shlit"a said that the burial place of Mordechai and Esther is in Persia near Tehran.

In the year 5595 (1835), the sefer Chibat Yerushalayim writes: “Behold, several upright people whom I know and recognize told me that they were in the land of Persia, and there in one city called Hamadan there are Jews. There is a building with a dome, and inside the building there are two grave-markers of the graves of Mordechai and Esther. And every Purim they read the Megillah there, and people come from distant lands to pray there.”

It should be noted that these three travelers record their burial place both in Hamadan and in the Land of Israel, in Bar’am (and Travels of Binyamin even notes that some say their grave is in the Shomron).

For those who hold they were buried in the Land of Israel—where is it mentioned that they were brought up?

2. In the year 4,975, Rabbi Menachem bar Peretz of Chevron—who served as chazzan in Chevron for about eight years—relates: “From there I went to the land of Bar’am, and I saw one rock, and within the rock is the grave of Queen Esther, who in her lifetime commanded Koresh her son to bring her up there.”

3. Gelilot Eretz Yisrael from the year 5,384 writes: “Mordechai and Esther were buried in Bar’am; they brought them from the land of Elam” (and Seder HaDorot also cites this in its name).

Pilgrims who identify their burial place in Bar’am, Israel

Deep in the forest near the village of Bar’am there is a large, ruined megalithic structure. This place is marked as the burial site of Mordechai and Esther, already by the earliest travelers who recorded their journeys for the memory of future generations—about 850 years ago. It should be noted that in most travel records, what is mentioned in Bar’am is the grave of Queen Esther alone. The monument in Bar’am at the site of their burial was erected by Anash, students of Rabbi Berland shlit"a, with his encouragement.

Their burial place in Bar’am is mentioned already from the year 4,965 (Kivrei Avot). After that—in the years: 4,939 (Travels of Binyamin). 4,970 (Rabbeinu Yehonatan of Lunel and his group). 4,975 (Rabbi Menachem bar Peretz of Chevron, as above). 4,995 (Rabbi Yaakov, emissary of Rabbeinu Yechiel of Paris). 5,000 (a student of the Ramban). 5,060 (Seder Kivrei Avoteinu, manuscript Ilan B). 5,200 (Moscow manuscript). 5,203 (Rabbi Yitzchak ben Alfra). 5282 (Rabbi Moshe Basola).

In the year 5297, Yichus HaAvot writes: “The village of Bar’am… and there is the burial of Queen Esther, peace be upon her. It is about a parasah and a half from Tzfat. And every Shushan Purim, a minyan goes from Tzfat to her grave, and they read the Megillah there, and they eat and drink and rejoice there.”

Their marker in Bar’am is also mentioned in the years: 5,321 (Yichus HaTzaddikim). 5,384 (Gelilot Eretz Yisrael, as above). 5,386 (Iggeret Mesaperet Yachasuta d’Tzaddikaya d’Ar’a d’Yisrael). 5,460 (Seder HaDorot in the name of Gelilot Eretz Yisrael, as above). 5,494 (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Kapsuto). 5,504 (Zikaron b’Yerushalayim). 5,629 (Yedei Moshe). 5,595 (Chibat Yerushalayim). 5,709 (Eden Tzion).

Pilgrims who identify their burial place in Awarta, Tzfat, and Tiberias, Israel

Awarta: Rabbi Yitzchak bar Musa. Tzfat: Rabbi Yosef of Montagna. Tiberias: the Rebbe, Moharanat (Yemei Moharanat, vol. 2, 151; he mentions only Queen Esther as “some say”).

Stories from Anash’s trips to the grave of Mordechai and Esther in Bar’am

On 12 Av 5760 (2000), a young man from Anash came in to Rabbi Berland shlit"a and told him that a group of young men from Anash had purchased a monument in order to place it at the burial site of Mordechai and Esther in the village of Bar’am. The Rav was very happy to hear this and gave his blessing for the matter.

In the year 5771 (2011), a group from Anash traveled to gravesites of Tzaddikim. When they arrived at the grave of Mordechai and Esther in Bar’am, one of their phones rang—and on the line was Rabbi Berland shlit"a. The person told the Rav where they were. When Rabbi Berland heard, he rejoiced and asked them to pray for him there and to say The Tikkun HaKlali for him. Naturally, the prayer there became something else entirely—filled with excitement and living vitality.