Editing Tziyun of the Rebbe Rayatz (section)

== The Merit of the Ohel ==
On the merit of the Ohel and the importance of visiting it, the Rebbe spoke extensively throughout the years.

The Rebbe said that those who write to the Rebbe and place their letter at the Ohel with genuine hiskashrus (connection) and with faith that the Rebbe reads the letter - the Rebbe will find a way to answer them.

In a talk on Lag B'Omer 5710 (1950), the Rebbe said that "the Ohel of the Rebbe is in the line of joy" similar to the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

In a talk on Yud Shevat 5714 (1954), the Rebbe explained the merit of hishtatchut (prostrating oneself at a tzaddik's gravesite) and said that the place has holiness like in the Land of Israel. In that same talk, the Rebbe said that when the yetzer hara (evil inclination) knows that a person has the ability to visit the Ohel due to its proximity, this itself already weakens its power since the person "has bread in his basket" (a Talmudic expression meaning they have reassurance).

Rabbi Shlomo Goren related that the Rebbe told him that from the Ohel to 770 there is a kind of corridor, and therefore his trips to the Ohel are not considered as leaving 770[2]. Similarly, the Rebbe told Rabbi Goren that one of the reasons he does not go up to Israel is because he wants to visit the holy Ohel.

Nevertheless, in the Rebbe's conduct, it was seen that he was careful not to turn the place into a permanent location and Chabad center and the like. Thus, the Rebbe never traveled to the Ohel to stay there for Shabbat and holidays. It is said that the Rebbe did not agree to even install a faucet for washing hands at the Ohel[3], but instead washed his hands each time when he returned to 770.

In the month of Menachem Av 5753 (1993), one of the doctors asked the Rebbe if he would continue traveling to the Ohel when his condition improved, and the Rebbe answered affirmatively.