One of the many desecrated tombstones in Ostroh was that of the preeminent Talmudic commentator, Rabbi Shmuel Eidels (1555-1631), better known as the “Maharsha.” In extolling the Maharsha’s greatness, the Baal Shem Tov is reported to have said that people would lick the dust over the Mahrasha’s grave if they would only appreciate his sanctity. Tragicaly, that grave, among others, was desecrated and the area was was turned into a park by the Communist regime.

In 1994, after the exact location of the grave was investigated and determined, a new tombstone was erected, only to be soon destroyed by the local population. In 1998, it was re-erected. In 2001, an Ohel was constructed over it, and in 2014 it was renewed and extended.

In the town’s other cemetery, Oholei Tzadikim and Geder Avos erected a tombstone over the grave of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Ostroh, a disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch, and author of Sefer Rav Yeivi.

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