Kvitel

Kvitel (Yiddish: קוויטל‎, "little note"; plural קוויטלך, Kvitelach) refers to a practice developed by Hasidic Judaism in which a Hasid (a follower of Hasidic Judaism) writes a note with a petitionary prayer and gives it to a Rebbe (Hasidic Jewish leader) in order to receive the latter's blessing. This prayer may be a general request for health, livelihood, or success, or a specific request such as recovery from illness, the ability to bear children, a wedding match, etc.

The writing, giving and reading of a kvitel is treated very seriously by Hasid and Rebbe alike, and is executed according to specific protocols. Because of their inherent sanctity, kvitelach may not be thrown away after use; they are either burned or buried.

The practice of giving kvitelach continues today in all the Hasidic courts.Kvitelach are also placed on the graves of Rebbes and tzadikim (plural of "tzadik," or Jewish holy man) with the hope that the soul of the deceased will intercede for the petitioner in Heaven.

It is a centuries-old custom for Jews to place kvitelach containing personal prayers to God between the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. This practice has been also adopted by Christian pilgrims and foreign dignitaries as well. More than a million prayer notes are placed in the Western Wall each year.

It is unclear when the practice of writing and giving kvitelach began. This practice is not mentioned in the writings of the early kabbalists, nor in the works of the school of Isaac Luria (1534–1572), the father of modern Kabbalah. The first time it is mentioned is during the time of the Baal Shem Tov (1698–1762), founder of Hasidism.

Some scholars have suggested that the practice is based on Biblical commentator Nahmanides's (1194–1270) interpretation of the scriptural verse "And all those that were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel" (Numbers 1:45). In his commentary on the Torah (the Five Books of Moses), Nahmanides contends that Moses asked each Jew to come before him to be counted. This personal appearance of the Jew before Moses, the tzadik (Jewish holy man), foreshadowed the ceremony of the giving of a kvitel by the Hasid to his Rebbe.

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