Why do Jews put stones on graves?

Jews place stones on graves of the dead as a sign of respect and remembrance for the people buried below. In Judaism placing stones on graves serves as a symbol of the lasting memory and enduring presence of the deceased in the lives of their loved ones. The stones also indicate that a grave has been visited, and they are sometimes called visitation stones. Unlike in other traditions, flowers are not typically part of Jewish funerals, nor are they left at Jewish graves. According to Jewish thought on the matter, flowers decay rapidly, whereas stones are more permanent and reflect the continued memory and influence of ancestors. Furthermore, it is recognized that the pleasure of flowers cannot be shared by the dead.

Leaving a stone on a grave is a custom and not a legal commandment (mitzvah) according to Jewish law (Halakhah), however, it is a commandment to commemorate the deceased. Rabbis have offered various interpretations for this custom, which could be of recent origin or it could extend to ancient times when small stones were all that marked a grave. When placing a stone on a grave, it is customary to do so with the left hand. The final scene of the film Schindler’s List (1993) movingly depicts survivors of the Holocaust placing stones on Oskar Schindler’s grave, located on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.