{"id":205865,"date":"2026-04-22T10:13:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T10:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/205865\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T10:13:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T10:13:20","slug":"ten-thousand-gather-at-staten-island-cemetery-food-distribution-prayer-honors-legacy-of-kerestir-rabbis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/205865\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten thousand gather at Staten Island cemetery. Food distribution, prayer honors legacy of Kerestir rabbis"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Tens of thousands of people gathered in the Graniteville area this week for a massive annual pilgrimage and volunteer\u2011run food distribution tied to the Kerestir rabbinical tradition, transforming a historic cemetery and nearby streets into a peaceful, prayer\u2011filled community hub.<\/p>\n

The gathering, centered at Baron Hirsch Cemetery<\/a>, drew an estimated 10,000 attendees, many traveling from across New York and neighboring states.<\/p>\n

The event coincides with the yahrzeit period associated with the Kerestir rabbinic family, whose legacy is rooted in charity, hospitality and caring for the needy.<\/p>\n

15<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/15<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

The event has been held for about eight years, said Pamela J. Itzkowitz, superintendent of Baron Hirsch Cemetery. \u201cThis year is bigger than last year. It\u2019s contained, it\u2019s peaceful, it\u2019s respectful and we work with them very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The modern-day Staten Island pilgrimage began after a devout follower reported a vivid dream revealing that the brother of Rabbi Yeshaya Steiner of Kerestir \u2014 a revered Hungarian rabbi known for feeding the poor and helping anyone who came to his door \u2014 was buried locally at Baron Hirsch Cemetery in 1925.<\/p>\n

\"Baron<\/p>\n

Baron Hirsch Cemetery<\/p>\n

Historically, followers traveled to Hungary to pray at Rabbi Steiner\u2019s grave. The discovery of his brother\u2019s burial site on Staten Island offered worshippers a local place to commemorate the family\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

Visitors arrive with deeply serious intentions, organizers say \u2014 praying for healing, fertility, marriage, family stability and during major life challenges.<\/p>\n

\"Baron<\/p>\n

Baron Hirsch Cemetery<\/p>\n

Attendees\u2019 light candles, pray inside designated tents, and place handwritten notes of personal prayers at the gravesite.<\/p>\n

Despite the size of the crowds, cemetery officials described the atmosphere as unusually calm and joyful.<\/p>\n

\u201cA cemetery is normally a place people come on some of the worst days of their lives,\u201d Itzkowitz said. \u201cSeeing it filled with prayer and positivity is something very different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Baron<\/p>\n

Baron Hirsch Cemetery<\/p>\n

A large volunteer\u2011run food distribution operated continuously alongside the event, serving between 2,000 and 3,000 people, according to Moshi, one of the community organizers.<\/p>\n

The operation functions as a 24\/7 soup kitchen, providing hot meals without any income verification, paperwork or religious requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t take a count,\u201d Moshi said. \u201cWe don\u2019t check if you make money or if you don\u2019t have money. You want, you come in, you take, you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Baron<\/p>\n

Baron Hirsch Cemetery<\/p>\n

Volunteers handle every part of the operation, from unloading trucks to serving food and setting up tables. Organizers emphasized that there is no formal hierarchy \u2014 a structure intentionally modeled after Rabbi Steiner\u2019s approach to unconditional hospitality.<\/p>\n

Security was provided by Shmira<\/a>, a volunteer watch group that coordinated with the NYPD and supplied generators, lighting towers and golf carts.<\/p>\n

\"Baron<\/p>\n

Baron Hirsch Cemetery<\/p>\n

Beyond its religious significance, the gathering brought renewed attention to Baron Hirsch Cemetery itself, which serves as a historical record of early 20th\u2011century Jewish immigrants who helped build New York City.<\/p>\n

Many graves date to the 1910s through the 1930s and have gone decades without visitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis cemetery is so old, these people haven\u2019t been prayed for in years. Now every prayer that\u2019s being said here is for everybody,\u201d said Judith Devine of Baron Hirsch Cemetery. \u201cIt\u2019s very uplifting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Baron<\/p>\n

Baron Hirsch Cemetery<\/p>\n

Among those buried at Baron Hirsch is the family of S.I. Newhouse, founder of the Advance Publications empire.<\/p>\n

\"Baron<\/p>\n

Baron Hirsch Cemetery<\/p>\n

Organizers say they hope the annual gathering continues to grow \u2014 not as a spectacle, but as a living continuation of a century\u2011old commitment to compassion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about feeding people, helping people, and showing respect,\u201d Moshi said. \u201cThat\u2019s the tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Baron<\/p>\n

Baron Hirsch Cemetery<\/p>\n

Celebrations are set to continue on April 29 with a second event<\/a> for Rabbi Yeshayah Steiner at the cemetery.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty incredible,\u201d Devine said. \u201cThe energy is always good. Everyone here contributes to their own community. People who need things, they find each other here. Since it\u2019s been happening, it\u2019s gotten even more organized.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Baron<\/p>\n

Baron Hirsch Cemetery<\/p>\n

Read the original article on silive.com<\/a>. Add silive.com<\/a> as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Tens of thousands of people gathered in the Graniteville area this week for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[81601,81602,81599,81600,891,9,24,63,134,136,135,20218],"class_list":["post-205865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-annual-pilgrimage","tag-baron-hirsch","tag-baron-hirsch-cemetery","tag-kerestir","tag-legacy","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news","tag-willowbrook"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}