Community Magazine Februafy 2009

Hacham yisrael abuhassera baba sali z.t.l T fillalt, Morocco 5650 – 5744 / 1890 – 1984 H acham Yisrael Abuhassera, zt”l , was born on Rosh Hashanah, 5650/1890 in Tafilalt, Morocco, to the noted Torah scholar Hacham Messod Abuhassera. His mother, wanting to ensure her child was raised in an atmosphere of pure sanctity, allowed only Jewish attendants to touch the infant, and she brought his cradle to the study hall so he could absorb words of Torah and be infused with their holiness. Under the tutelage of his brother Hacham David, who was twenty-four years his senior, young Yisrael blossomed and very soon became widely recognized for his extraordinary wisdom and ability to facilitate miracles, earning him the Arabic epithet “Baba Sali” – “our father who prays.” His reputation gradually spread throughout Morocco, and many people flocked to him to receive his blessing.. At the age of sixteen, young Yisrael married Pirchah, a pious, devoted woman who enabled Hacham Yisrael to commit his life to intensive avodat Hashem . Three years later, when Hacham Yisrael was but nineteen years old, his father 32 Community magazine During the Baba Sali’s tenure as rabbi in Morocco, the community con- structed a new mikveh , but the scarce rainfall during the summer months made it impossible to fill it with the requisite rain water so it could be used. Hacham Yisrael prayed, “Master of the world! You commanded us to live with holiness and purity, and we want to do Your will. We did our job, now You do Yours, for the sake of Your Holy Name!” At that very moment, clouds covered the sky and rain began to fall, ending only once the mikveh was filled. Hacham Yisrael thereupon examined the mikveh and noticed that although it generally met all halachic specifications, one pipe had been constructed in a manner that failed to conform to the minority opinion of the Bet Yehudah . The community was hesitant to rely on a second miracle to fill the mikveh , but Hacham Yisrael insisted that the mikveh be acceptable according to all halachic opinions. He therefore demanded that the water be emptied from the mikveh and the pipe be altered in accordance with the view of the Bet Yehuda . The rabbi again turned to the Almighty to beg for rain to fill the mikveh . This time, he also appealed to the soul of the Bet Yehuda : “You know I did this not for my own honor, but rather for the sake of the purity of the Jewish people. Please, go pray to Hashem on our behalf, because I did it to fulfill your opinion!” Sure enough, rain once again fell from the skies and filled the new mikveh . Filling the New Mikveh HachamAvraham Elbaz, a Moroccan-born talmid Hacham who studied in France and, later, in the Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland, developed a serious illness in his eye, toward the end of his life, that severely impaired his vision. The prognosis was far from promising, and one doctor indicated that Hacham Avraham would soon lose his vision entirely. A friend who was visiting Eress Yisrael went to Hacham Yisrael Abuhassera, and received the rabbi’s blessing on behalf of Hacham Avraham. The Baba Sali also recited a special blessing over some water, which he sent with the friend and instructed Hacham Avraham to apply to his eye. After a week, the eye had regained normal vision. The doctor, who had all but despaired from Hacham Avraham’s recovery, exuberantly declared, “There must be a Gd!” The Doctor Who Believed