A strict interpretation of the Old Testament would appear to make this tradition questionable.
A strict interpretation of the Old Testament would appear to make this tradition questionable.
You mean your interpretation of the Old Testament.
Devotion among Jews has generally varied both at any given time as well as through time (the Jewish priests weren’t exactly behaving in a Kosher manner at the time the prophet Samuel was called, and not quite everyone was following a strict interpretation of things when Elijah began).
Praying to and for the dead is documented well enough before Christ. The Sadducees weren’t into it because they didn’t believe in an afterlife. I don’t think you will find anyone making noise about people doing this until some of the protestants decided it was incompatible with their “strict interpretation.” I think a better word would be “novel.”
There is certainly opposition to the practice among some religious Jews. But it’s also true that honoring the memory of righteous people is considered a mitzvah.
Rebbe Elimelech was the brother of Rebbe Zushya of Anipoli, a great leader in his own right. Both students of the famed Maggid (Preacher) of Mezritch.
Not just Jews pray at gravesites of famous rabbis:
https://matzav.com/russian-generals-pray-for-peace-at-kevorim-of-chabad-rebbes/