A question wrapped in a conundrum: why do jews put pebbles on gravestones?

After a number of questions on the e-mail, I realized that I didn't have the slightest idea why I always left a pebble when I left a Jewish gravestone. Many rabbis I asked didn't know either. They said, "We just do it."

Two other responses were common. The first was that you left a pebble behind to console any relative who would visit the grave later. The other answer was that the early Jews were nomads who buried their dead in the desert sand, marking the site with large stones to keep away wild beasts.

Then it would be a mitzvah (a blessing), for passers-by to add another stone to the pile. The only problem with the "wild beasts" solution lies in Genesis 23, when Abraham's wife Sarah, dies in Hebron. "Abraham said .

. . I am a stranger and sojourner; give me a possession of a burying place." ... He asked Ephron, for "the cave of Machpelah ... for the full price."

There "Abraham buried Sarah, his wife." In Genesis 25:5, we learn that Abraham eventually joined Sarah, and, later, his ... more.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.