In the past month, construction work was completed on a wall
surrounding the ancient cemetery in the town of Makava,
Hungary. The ba'al Yerios Shlomo and the ba'al Ohel
Moshe are among the geonim and tzaddikim
interred there. The cemetery was able to remain largely
intact despite the usual ravages of time because of its
distance from the main population center. However, its
surrounding wall was found to be in serious disrepair,
prompting the International Makava Committee to decide to
replace it with an entirely new wall.
Last week a group of municipal officials from Makava arrived
for a visit to Israel. Heading the delegation were the Vice
Mayor of the town and its outlying areas, Otilah Murshvari,
along with the liaison to other communities, Gilitz Yanosh.
They paid a special visit to the Makava institutions in
Kiryat Ata, where they were tendered a warm welcoming
ceremony at the yeshiva, with the participation of members of
the International Makava Committee, Rav A. Hoffman, Rav M.
Daskal, Rav Y. Holshtok, Rav M. Greenfeld and Rav Y.
Klein.
During talks with the visiting dignitaries, the committee
took up the matter of further restoration projects under way,
such as the paving of a road from the town center to the
cemetery, restoring three small cemeteries within the town
itself, and renovating the 100-year-old Makava Beis
Hamedrash. Plans call for all these to be completed in
time for the 55th yahrtzeit of Maharam Vorhand, the
ba'al Ohel Moshe, at which time chassidei
Makava the world over will travel to Makava on Shabbos
Beha'alosecho through the 17th of Sivan, the actual
yahrtzeit.
The great niftar wrote in his tsavo'oh that
"whoever visits my kever and cries with bitter tears,
promising Hashem that he will do complete repentance, I
promise to help him. And whoever contributes to my tikun
neshomoh is guaranteed to leave this world in
teshuvah."
The kever has become a major magnet for many
individuals in travail, many of whom have seen their
tefillos answered.
