Where is the Ramban Really Buried?

The Year: 1270. The Place: Israel. The Theories: Three locations.

The mystery surrounding the burial place of Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, known as the Ramban, is one of the most puzzling, and his multiple alleged burial sites make it unique among prominent figures from the medieval period.

The Ramban was born in 1194 in Girona, Spain, and became renowned as one of its great scholars. In 1263, he was called to Barcelona to participate in a great debate that lasted for four days in the presence of the king and the nobility. Although the monk was defeated in the debate, the Ramban feared for his life and decided to move to Israel.

The Ramban arrived by ship at the port city of Akko, and on the 9th of Elul in the year 1267, he traveled to Jerusalem. From there, he wrote to his son in Spain a special letter describing his plans: "I intend to go to Hebron, the city of our ancestors' graves, to carve out a tomb for myself with Hashem's help. He who granted me the privilege to see it in its desolation will let me see it in its rebuilding when the Divine Presence returns."

The Ramban passed away in 1270, just a few years after arriving in the Holy Land. As he had expressed his wish to be buried near the patriarchs in the Cave of Machpelah, there are those who still point today to a grave near the entrance of the cave, which travelers to ancient Israel have noted: "There are many steps leading up to the opening of the Cave of Machpelah, and on the first step to the left of the first entrance is the Ramban's grave." Even today, many come to pray by his tomb before entering the patriarchs' graves.

Other traditions suggest the Ramban eventually died in Jerusalem and was thus buried on the Mount of Olives in a cave known as the Cave of Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenura, or in a cave adjacent to the Cave of Shimon the Righteous, called the Cave of the Ramban.

However, an anonymous student of the Ramban who wrote a book several years after his mentor's passing notes his burial place as Haifa: "From Akko to Haifa, there is the cemetery at the foot of Mount Carmel, where the great Rabbi Samson ben Abraham of the Tosafists is buried, as well as my teacher, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman of Girona, and several other greats whose names we do not know." According to this view, the Ramban's tomb is located in the ancient Jewish cemetery near Jaffa Street in the lower city of Haifa. Yet, even this northern location is subject to debate, and other traditions suggest his burial might be in Akko, the first city he set foot in upon reaching Israel."