Prayer at Graves

Hi, I've heard about people who go to the Lubavitch Rebbe's tomb in New York to ask for favours/miracles to be fulfiled. I'd like to know if you can only ask for a favour if you go to the tomb or you can also be at home and say any kind of prayer? P.S I live in Argentina and I don't have the means so as to go to New York to do so. Thanks.

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

There is indeed a concept in Judaism about praying at the graves of holy rabbis. It is believed that such graves are holy places and the merits of the rabbi buried there will assist one in having one’s prayers answered.

But of course, when praying at such graves we are only praying to G-d in the merit of the person buried there, not to the deceased person himself.

Although there is a general mitsvah to pray at a grave of a Tsadik as brought in the Pischey Teshuvah YD siman 195 especially on erev Rosh Chodesh,15th day of the Jewish month, Erev Rosh Hashanah, Erev Yom Kippur and the day of the Yartsiet.