Court Hearing on Tzipori Grave on MondayJoseph I. Lauer also points to a Hebrew article in Maariv which gives further details. The inscription is on the entrance to a burial cave (pictured in the article) and reads in Aramaic, "This is the grave of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi ha-Qappar." Joseph adds:
Reported: 01:48 AM - Aug/24/09
(IsraelNN.com) A court in Tiberias is scheduled on Monday to determine whether or not a Tzipori bed and breakfast operator can dig around an ancient grave discovered this past winter in a yard on his property. Mitch Pilcer told Arutz 7's Hebrew news journal that a tombstone for Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi was discovered on the site as he prepared to expand his facility. He added the letters on the tombstone were well preserved. Archaeologists he called examined the site, covered it up and examined it again a month ago.
The Israel Antiquities Authority informed Pilcer a week ago that they wanted to excavate the site without the necessary permits. Fearing demonstrations claiming debasement of the honor of the dead, Pilcer turned to the court to bar excavation without the necessary permits.
(As Jastrow notes, Hakappar is the surname of Rabbi Eliezer. M. Avot 4:21, Berakhot 63a.) Dr. Mordecai Aviam is quoted as saying that the addition of "ha-Qappar" to the name of the rabbi is an indication that it is not the grave of the famous Tanna but of another bearer of the name.He also refers to a possibly relevant 2004 Cathedra article, but I cannot get the URL to work.
The article states that the owner is involved in a controversy with Rabbis, who say that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi never died (and with the Atra Kadisha organization that wants to protect the gravesite), and with the IAA, which wants to open the entry to the cave and has commenced a lawsuit, with a hearing to be held Monday, and obtained a stop-work order against Pilcer."
UPDATE: Dead Maariv link fixed.
UPDATE: The English abstract for the Hebrew Cathedra article is here.
Titre du document / Document title
Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi and his wife Kyra Mega: Interpretation of inscriptions from Beth-She'arim
Auteur(s) / Author(s)
ROSENFELD B. Z. ;
Résumé / Abstract
chamber of Cave 20, a large burial cave in Beth She'arim. The inscriptions apparently relate to one particular family unit comprising a father, a mother, and a daughter. The author proposes identifying the father with thewell-known Talmudic sage who bears an identical name, R. Joshua ben Levi, and to add to the existing information on his wife, on some of his descendants, and on their socio-economic standing. An additional inscription from the same burial cave is also relevant to this family. Historical research was supplemented by sociological definitions that were helpful in providing greater understanding of the archaeological finds and in interpretation of the inscriptions.