This handsome volume contains the wonderful story of the Jewish holy sites throughout Eretz Israel. sketching the lives of important figures throughout the ages: our Biblical ancestors, the prophets, Kings, Talmudic  tannaim and amoraim, and scholars from later centuries.  In word and deed they serve as role models for their contemporaries, and they continue  to inspire us today. Their words of wisdom embody classic elelments of jewish culture and faith.  Basic to the custom of pilgrimage to these locations is the belief that prayer at holy sites has special meaning.  The faithful hold that the righteous buried at these sites will act as advocates before God, enabling our prayers for health, success in marriage, and a comfortable livelihood to be heard sympathetically.  The graves of our ancestors area source of rich, historical meaning for us, their descendants, connecting us to the land and to our roots.  Only a nation that knows and remembers its past can have a future.