סטעפאנעשט — די שטאט פונעם רבין

Ștefănești — the Rebbe's town; he was moved to Eretz Yisroel in 1968

Ștefănești · סטעפאנעשט

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Visitor experience

Practical notes from visitors — access, directions, and the condition of the site.

How to get there

Ștefănești, Botoșani County, Romania — the Rebbe was reinterred at Nachlas Yitzchok, Givatayim, in 5729; see the notes

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The exact grave coordinates are not confirmed yet — go by the address and ask locally. We don't publish a coordinate we haven't checked.

1.HE IS NOT IN ROMANIA ANY MORE. His kever in Ștefănești came under threat of demolition, and his chassidim brought him to Eretz Yisroel — the levaya was on 3 Cheshvan 5729, with thousands walking behind him in Tel Aviv, and he was reburied at Nachlas Yitzchok in Givatayim. The move is dated 1968 by the Hebrew date and 1969 by most retellings. This page used to send people to Romania for him; it should not have.
2.WHEN THEY OPENED THE KEVER HIS BODY WAS WHOLE. That is what the people who were there testified, and it is why the story is told at all. It is the reason the move is remembered as it is rather than as a rescue of a threatened grave.
3.IF YOU WANT TO STAND AT HIS KEVER, GO TO GIVATAYIM — the Ruzhin plot at Nachlas Yitzchok, in the Tel Aviv area. It is one of the easiest kevorim of a Ruzhiner einikel to reach anywhere in the world, which is not something that can be said of the town he led in.
4.ȘTEFĂNEȘTI IS STILL WHERE THE COURT WAS, for seventy years, and the town is still worth seeing for that. What no source found will say is what stands over the emptied kever there now. Older writing describing pilgrimage to his tomb in Romania was written before the move and should not be read as current.
5.THE YAHRZEIT IS NOT SETTLED EITHER. Sources give 21 Tammuz 5693 and 10 Sivan 5693. This page carries both rather than choosing.

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Updated Oct 14, 2025. Read the full advisory →

Closest airports

The three nearest airports with scheduled service — tap for exact driving or transit time.

Iași (IAS)Iași International· 76 km · 47 mi straight-line· regional
🚗 By car →🚆 Public transit →
Chișinău (KIV)Chișinău International· 162 km · 101 mi straight-line· regional
🚗 By car →🚆 Public transit →
Cluj-Napoca (CLJ)Cluj-Napoca International· 288 km · 179 mi straight-line· regional
🚗 By car →🚆 Public transit →

Who is buried here

Known kevarim

רבי אברהם מתתיהו פרידמן מסטעפאנעשט

Rabbi Avraham Matisyahu Friedman of Ștefănești

The Stefaneshter Rebbe

Yahrzeit: י׳ סיון · 5693 / 1933

A grandson of Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin; his kever remains a place of pilgrimage in Romania.

Verification

No public access contact has been verified for this cemetery yet.