In Queens, revered Jewish leader’s burial site draws crowds

NEW YORK – A quiet residential neighbourhood in New York City’s borough of Queens is getting visitors from around the city, the country and the world.

That’s because it’s home to the burial place of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the revered leader of Judaism’s Chabad-Lubavitch movement who died 25 years ago.

While visitors come year-round, the crowds grow tremendously around the anniversary of his passing, which according to the Hebrew calendar falls this year on July 6.

People can sometimes wait hours to spend even a couple of moments at his mausoleum, where they pray and leave notes.

Chabad-Lubavitch representatives estimate there are now about 400,000 visitors a year, with about 50,000 in the period surrounding the anniversary.

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Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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Deepti Hajela covers issues of race, ethnicity and immigration for The Associated Press. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dhajela