«small» or «old» Jewish cemetery: the grave of Rabbi Shabtai and two other recently identified, other graves.The role of Shabtai in Hasidism. We are at «small» or «old» Jewish cemetery. Here of the numerous tombstones of the XVIII century. More than 650 mats and tombstones have been identified here. An investigation of the old cemetery in 2017 uncovered a burial dating back to 1703. Three other graves were also found that date back to 1710. In 2022, a momentous event occurred - a fact of historical significance for all of Orthodox Judaism - the identification of Rabbi Shabtai's tomb. The grave of the rabbi from Rashkov was searched for a long time.There was an opinion that it was in Ukraine, as the teacher Shabtai Besht was buried there, in Medjibosh. In 2020, the Tiraspol Jewish Center began to cooperate with the Jewish organization Agudath Israel. It was planned to jointly determine the likelihood of a rabbi's burial in a Transnistrian village. The work was initiated by the chief rabbi of Moldova and the religious movement Agudath Israel, Pinchas Saltzman. The sign of the Agudas Ohalei Tzadikim organization has already been erected here. It has been authorizing and restoring the graves of famous rabbis and righteous people in the former Soviet Union, Israel, Yemen, Syria and Turkey for decades. How was Shabtai's grave found, which had been wanted for years in Ukraine and Moldova? When they lifted the matzevah and read the name of the buried man, the researchers were unspeakably delighted! After that, they raised and placed another series of tombstones vertically. Let's talk about Rabbi Shabtai, his teacher the Beshta and Hasidism. Rabbi Shabtai ben Zvi Hirsch lived in the second half of the 17th and first half of the 18th centuries (approximate years of life 1655-1745). He is the author of the famous prayer book based on the instructions of one of the greatest Kabbalists, Rabbi Yitzhak Luria. In Judaism, the interpretation of events, the so-called prayer book, makes sense, and this prayer book, written by Shabtai of Rashkov, was and still is used by major rabbis throughout the world. In addition, Rabbi Shabtai established the custom in many communities around the world of reciting the 27th Psalm of David daily in Elul, the month of repentance, before Rosh Hashanah. He was one of the outstanding disciples of the founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov (Beshta). There are many legends about Beshta: He supposedly could miraculously be in many places at once! Or could move with unimaginable speed, be in the right place at the right time.Hasidism as a religious movement is considered miraculous. Besht created his own version of Judaism: he took religious ecstasy and direct mystical experience as the basis of his concept; he placed them above both Talmudic scholarship and the ascetic practices of the Kabbalah. According to this teaching, pious Jews should be distinguished not by the severity of the law or by asceticism, but by cheerfulness of heart (abodah), reverence (kavana) and humility (shiflut). Rashkov was one of the first places where Hadithism spread. The village was the seat of the Hasidic rabbis of the Rashkov dynasty, a dynasty that existed for nearly two and a half centuries until World War II. Rabbi Shabtai was succeeded by his son Rabbi Yosef, followed by his grandson Rabbi Shlomo-Zalmina, the latter's son also Rabbi Shabtai, Shabtai's son Ihl-Yosef and finally at the beginning of the 20th century the dynasty was headed by Shlomo-Zalmina (from 1896 to 1916). In the old Rashkov Jewish cemetery the graves date from the early 18th and mid 19th centuries. There are many very curious mats decorated with various kinds of decorations. In addition to traditional symbols-the Star of David, the menorah, the blessing of the Cohens (hands), the libation of water by the Levites (jug), the lighting of candles, there are images of animals, birds and flowers, as well as objects related to the profession of the buried person. Twenty-eight tombstones were identified, indicating that the deceased – «scriptural scholar, rabbinist» etc. The epitaph usually begins with two Hebrew letters meaning «Here lies» and ends with the marker «May his/her soul be tied in the knot of life». Men and women were traditionally buried in different parts of the cemetery. From the text of the tombstones you can determine the age of the deceased: «infant, girl, boy, girl, young man, grandson, etc.» or «old woman, elderly».Not all tombstones have survived. In Soviet times, during the period of atheism and the struggle against all kinds of religion, there was a directive to use tombstones to strengthen the road, which they did. Let's walk through the cemetery and pay tribute to the great ancestors. We will return the same way until we see a Catholic cathedral on the left side of the hill, where we will stop. We'll do the washing of hands.