In development. Matzevah OCR is a planned feature, not yet live. The inscription, translation, and before/after below are illustrative examples of what we are building.
Matzevah OCR — in development
The stone still speaks — in Hebrew, and we’re building the tool to translate it.
A matzevah carries names, dates, and a lineage — but it’s written in Hebrew, in calendar years you can’t Google, and in acronyms even fluent readers pause over. Matzevah OCR is in development: the plan is to read the stone, decode the abbreviations, and turn it into a cited line in your family story. The preview below is illustrative.
From photo to family fact
Read, decode, connect
Reads the Hebrew
OCR tuned for Hebrew script lifts the inscription off a weathered stone — names, dates, and the Hebrew calendar year.
Decodes the acronyms
The abbreviations carved into every matzevah are expanded and explained, so the stone reads as a sentence, not a puzzle.
Feeds your narrative
A decoded “son of Yosef” becomes a cited link in your family tree — the gravestone itself is the source.
Raw photo → decoded inscription
Toggle the stone open
This example is illustrative and clearly marked. Switch between the raw photo and the OCR + translation to see what we plan to lift off the stone once this feature ships.
Illustrative
Illustrative matzevah — synthetic sample, not a real grave marker.
The abbreviations, explained
A small key to a closed language
- פ״נPo Nikbar / Po Nitman“Here lies” — the opening line of most Jewish gravestones.
- תנצב״הT.N.Tz.B.H.“May their soul be bound up in the bond of life” — the closing blessing.
- ז״לZichrono Li'vracha“Of blessed memory” — placed after the deceased’s name.
- בן / בתben / bat“son of” / “daughter of” — the link that rebuilds a lineage.
Why this is different
Find a Grave transcriptions are typed in by hand, one volunteer at a time, and BillionGraves photographs the stone but never decodes the Hebrew acronyms. Matzevah OCR is being built to read the Hebrew, expand the abbreviations, and turn the stone into a cited fact in your family story.