Description
It is possible for a gezeira (decree) to be postponed or torn up because of the influence of a deceased tzaddik whose grave is visited by those who are suffering. Avraham was asking to save Sodom in the name of the possible tzaddikim because it could be that because of their suffering watching their neighbors dying, Sodom would not be destroyed. The sources for speaking directly to the meis (deceased) is in the Zohar and the Sefer Chassidim. There are five madregos (levels) of relating to visiting a grave: 1. Doing teshuvah through seeing the cemetery. 2. Since the tzaddikim are buried there, tefillos (prayers) will be more received. 3. Visiting the parents' graves will open the heart. 4. To visit the grave of a tzaddik that you knew when he was alive, which will bring on pachad (fear) and busha (embarrassment). 5. The binding of the ruach (soul) of the tzaddik to the ruach of the person who is visiting. This last level involves kabbalistic techniques. The Zohar says that the deceased tzaddikim derive great pleasure from Torah readings that are done near them.
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