Halacha:

Minhagim 

Collections: Rabbi Weinberger: Visiting The Cemetery

Description

Doresh al hameisim (seeking out the dead) is a Torah prohibition against communicating with the dead using specific techniques. Some Rishonim (early halachic authorities) were opposed to the practice of visiting cemeteries and speaking to the deceased. The Zohar tells us that it is fine to speak to the deceased tzaddikim, but not to the reshaim (wicked). At the cemetery, a Jew does teshuvah. The Maharal says that by giving the deceased the honor of coming to their grave, the deceased will automatically speak on your behalf. There is a debate whether we should ask malachim (angels) to deliver our tefillos (prayers). The deceased are sensitive to the suffering that we experience in this world, and thus try to alleviate our suffering by pleading our case for us in the upper worlds.