Yitzchak Kaduri
Encyclopedia
Yitzhak Kaduri, also spelled Kadouri, Kadourie, Kedourie; "Yitzhak
" also spelled Yitzchak (died January 28 2006), was a renowned Mizrahi Haredi rabbi
and kabbalist
who devoted his life to Torah
study and prayer
on behalf of the Jewish people. He taught and practiced the kavanot of the Rashash
. His blessings and amulet
s were also widely sought to cure people of illnesses and infertility
. He has not published any religious articles or books. At the time of his death, estimates of his age ranged from 106 to 110.
, which was then part of the Ottoman Turkish
vilayets
, to Rabbi Katchouri Diba ben `Aziza, a spice trader. His exact year of birth is unknown.
As a youngster, Kaduri excelled in his studies and began learning Kabbalah
while still in his teens, a study that would last his entire life. He was a student of the Ben Ish Chai
(Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad) and studied at the Zilka Yeshivah in Baghdad
.
Rabbi Kaduri moved to the British Mandate of Palestine (Eretz Israel, the Holy Land) in 1923 upon the advice of the elders of Baghdad, who hoped that his scholarship and piety would stop the incursion of Zionism
in the post-World War I
state. It was here that he changed his name from Diba to Kaduri.
for kabbalists
from Iraq. There he learned from the leading kabbalists of the time, including Rabbi Yehuda Ftaya
, author of Beit Lechem Yehudah, and Rabbi Chaim Ya'akov Sofer, author of Kaf Hachaim. He later immersed himself in regular Talmud
ic study and rabbinical law in the Porat Yosef Yeshiva
in Jerusalem's Old City, where he also studied Kabbalah with the Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Ezra Attiya, Rabbi Saliman Eliyahu (father of Sephardic Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu
), and other learned rabbis.
In 1934, Rabbi Kaduri and his family moved to the Old City, where the Porat Yosef Yeshivah gave him an apartment nearby with a job of binding the yeshivah's books and copying over rare manuscripts in the yeshivah's library. The books remained in the yeshivah's library, while the copies of manuscripts were stored in Rabbi Kaduri's personal library. Before binding each book, he would study it intently, committing it to memory. He was reputed to have a photographic memory and also mastered the Talmud
by heart, including the adjoining Rashi
and Tosafot
commentaries.
During the period of Arab
-Israel
i friction that led up to the 1948 war, the Porat Yosef Yeshivah was virtually turned into a fortress against frequent flashes of violence. When the Jewish quarter of the Old City fell to the invading Jordan
ian Army during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
, the Jordanians set fire to the yeshivah and all surrounding houses, destroying all the books and manuscripts that Rabbi Kaduri could not smuggle to Beit El Yeshiva
(Yeshivat HaMekubalim) in Jerusalem. He knew all the writings of Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, the founder of modern Kabbalah, by heart. After the passing of the leading kabbalist, Rabbi Efraim Hakohen, in 1989, the remaining kabbalists appointed Rabbi Kaduri as their head.
Rabbi Kaduri did not publish any of the works that he authored on Kabbalah; he allowed only students of Kabbalah to study them. He did publish some articles criticizing those who engage in "practical Kabbalah", the popular dissemination of advice or amulets, often for a price. He also spoke out against the development of cult organizations frequented by pop celebrities
. "Kabbalah should not be taught to non-Jews," he explained.
) would come to seek his advice, blessings and amulet
s which he would create specifically for the individual in need. He had learned the Kabbalistic secrets of the amulets from his teacher, Rabbi Yehudah Petaya. Many people directly attributed personal miracles to receiving a blessing from Rabbi Kaduri, such as: recovery from severe illnesses and diseases, children born to couples with fertility problems, finding a spouse, and economic blessings.
His rise to fame, though, began when his son, Rabbi David Kaduri, who ran a poultry store in the Bucharim Market, decided to found a proper yeshivah organization under his father. Called Nachalat Yitzchak Yeshivah, it was located adjacent to the family home in the Bucharim neighbourhood of Jerusalem. His grandson, Yossi Kaduri, took part in this endeavour with him.
Kaduri reportedly received blessings from the Ben Ish Chai
(Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad) in 1908 and from the Lubavitcher Rebbe
(Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson) in 1990 that he would meet the Messiah. However, other sources say these blessings were for arichat yamim, long life, which was certainly reflected in his advanced age.
when he was flown by helicopter
to multiple political rallies in support of the Shas
party, and for amulets that were produced in his name for supporters of that party.
In October 1997, Benjamin Netanyahu
, who was then in his first term as Prime Minister of Israel
, came to visit Kaduri at his synagogue and was recorded as whispering in his ear ``the left has forgotten what it is to be a Jew". This was considered as a divisive action and resonated in the press.
In January 2006, Rabbi Kaduri was hospitalized with pneumonia
in the Bikur Holim
hospital in Jerusalem, where there wasn't an authomatic artificial respirator, which was donated by a close person. He died at around 10 p.m. on January 28, 2006 (29 Tevet
5766). He was alert and lucid until his last day.
An estimated 300,000 people took part in his funeral procession on January 29, which started from the Nachalat Yitzchak Yeshivah and wound its way through the streets of Jerusalem to the Givat Shaul
cemetery near the entrance to the city of Jerusalem.
Yitzhak
is Hebrew for Isaac and may refer to:* Isaac, the Biblical figure* A number of public figures in Israel, including**Yitzhak Ben-Aharon , politician**Yitzhak Ben-Zvi , President of Israel and historian...
" also spelled Yitzchak (died January 28 2006), was a renowned Mizrahi Haredi rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
and kabbalist
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
who devoted his life to Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
study and prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
on behalf of the Jewish people. He taught and practiced the kavanot of the Rashash
Shalom Sharabi
Sar Shalom Sharabi , also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Mizraḥi deyedi`a Sharabi Sar Shalom Sharabi , also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Mizraḥi deyedi`a Sharabi Sar Shalom Sharabi , also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Mizraḥi deyedi`a...
. His blessings and amulet
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
s were also widely sought to cure people of illnesses and infertility
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
. He has not published any religious articles or books. At the time of his death, estimates of his age ranged from 106 to 110.
Youth
He was born in BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, which was then part of the Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
vilayets
Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire
The subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire were administrative divisions of the state organisation of the Ottoman Empire. Outside this system were various types of vassal and tributary states....
, to Rabbi Katchouri Diba ben `Aziza, a spice trader. His exact year of birth is unknown.
As a youngster, Kaduri excelled in his studies and began learning Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
while still in his teens, a study that would last his entire life. He was a student of the Ben Ish Chai
Ben Ish Chai
Yosef Chaim or in Iraqi Hebrew Yoseph Ḥayyim was a leading hakham , authority on Jewish law and Master Kabbalist...
(Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad) and studied at the Zilka Yeshivah in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
.
Rabbi Kaduri moved to the British Mandate of Palestine (Eretz Israel, the Holy Land) in 1923 upon the advice of the elders of Baghdad, who hoped that his scholarship and piety would stop the incursion of Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
in the post-World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
state. It was here that he changed his name from Diba to Kaduri.
Student of Kabbalah
He went to study at the Shoshanim LeDavid YeshivaYeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
for kabbalists
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
from Iraq. There he learned from the leading kabbalists of the time, including Rabbi Yehuda Ftaya
Yehuda Fatiyah
Rabbi Yehuda ben Moshe ben Yeshou`ah Fatiyah, also pronounced Fetayah was born in Baghdad and died on ZaKh Menahem Av in Jerusalem. He was the main student of the Ben Ish Chai. Rabbi Fatiyah was a leading Kabbalist and authored many works of Kabbalah, among which three are well known: Yayin...
, author of Beit Lechem Yehudah, and Rabbi Chaim Ya'akov Sofer, author of Kaf Hachaim. He later immersed himself in regular Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic study and rabbinical law in the Porat Yosef Yeshiva
Porat Yosef Yeshiva
Porat Yosef Yeshiva is a leading Sephardic yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, with locations in both the Old City and the Geula neighborhood.-History:...
in Jerusalem's Old City, where he also studied Kabbalah with the Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Ezra Attiya, Rabbi Saliman Eliyahu (father of Sephardic Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu
Mordechai Eliyahu
Mordechai Tzemach Eliyahu ) was a prominent rabbi, posek and spiritual leader. He served as the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993.-Biography:...
), and other learned rabbis.
In 1934, Rabbi Kaduri and his family moved to the Old City, where the Porat Yosef Yeshivah gave him an apartment nearby with a job of binding the yeshivah's books and copying over rare manuscripts in the yeshivah's library. The books remained in the yeshivah's library, while the copies of manuscripts were stored in Rabbi Kaduri's personal library. Before binding each book, he would study it intently, committing it to memory. He was reputed to have a photographic memory and also mastered the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
by heart, including the adjoining Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
and Tosafot
Tosafot
The Tosafot or Tosafos are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes...
commentaries.
During the period of Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i friction that led up to the 1948 war, the Porat Yosef Yeshivah was virtually turned into a fortress against frequent flashes of violence. When the Jewish quarter of the Old City fell to the invading Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian Army during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, the Jordanians set fire to the yeshivah and all surrounding houses, destroying all the books and manuscripts that Rabbi Kaduri could not smuggle to Beit El Yeshiva
Beit El yeshiva
The Beit El Yeshiva is a Religious Zionist yeshiva situated in the Israeli settlement of Beit El near Ramallah, in the Binyamin region of the West Bank....
(Yeshivat HaMekubalim) in Jerusalem. He knew all the writings of Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, the founder of modern Kabbalah, by heart. After the passing of the leading kabbalist, Rabbi Efraim Hakohen, in 1989, the remaining kabbalists appointed Rabbi Kaduri as their head.
Rabbi Kaduri did not publish any of the works that he authored on Kabbalah; he allowed only students of Kabbalah to study them. He did publish some articles criticizing those who engage in "practical Kabbalah", the popular dissemination of advice or amulets, often for a price. He also spoke out against the development of cult organizations frequented by pop celebrities
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
. "Kabbalah should not be taught to non-Jews," he explained.
Blessings and amulets
Over the years, thousands of people (mainly but not exclusively Sephardi JewsSephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
) would come to seek his advice, blessings and amulet
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
s which he would create specifically for the individual in need. He had learned the Kabbalistic secrets of the amulets from his teacher, Rabbi Yehudah Petaya. Many people directly attributed personal miracles to receiving a blessing from Rabbi Kaduri, such as: recovery from severe illnesses and diseases, children born to couples with fertility problems, finding a spouse, and economic blessings.
His rise to fame, though, began when his son, Rabbi David Kaduri, who ran a poultry store in the Bucharim Market, decided to found a proper yeshivah organization under his father. Called Nachalat Yitzchak Yeshivah, it was located adjacent to the family home in the Bucharim neighbourhood of Jerusalem. His grandson, Yossi Kaduri, took part in this endeavour with him.
Kaduri reportedly received blessings from the Ben Ish Chai
Ben Ish Chai
Yosef Chaim or in Iraqi Hebrew Yoseph Ḥayyim was a leading hakham , authority on Jewish law and Master Kabbalist...
(Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad) in 1908 and from the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
(Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson) in 1990 that he would meet the Messiah. However, other sources say these blessings were for arichat yamim, long life, which was certainly reflected in his advanced age.
Involvement in politics
The last two decades of his life were marred by the controversial way that some would use him to promote various political parties. Rabbi Kaduri achieved celebrity status during the 1996 Knesset electionsIsraeli legislative election, 1996
Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. Voter turnout was 79.3%.The 1996 elections included two new changes, both designed to increase the stability of the Knesset. First, the Prime Minister was to be elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the...
when he was flown by helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
to multiple political rallies in support of the Shas
Shas
Shas is an ultra-orthodox religious political party in Israel, primarily representing Sephardic and Mizrahi Haredi Judaism.Shas was founded in 1984 by dissident members of the Ashkenazi dominated Agudat Israel, to represent the interests of religiously observant Sephardic and Mizrahi ...
party, and for amulets that were produced in his name for supporters of that party.
In October 1997, Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
, who was then in his first term as Prime Minister of Israel
Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
, came to visit Kaduri at his synagogue and was recorded as whispering in his ear ``the left has forgotten what it is to be a Jew". This was considered as a divisive action and resonated in the press.
Final days
Rabbi Kaduri lived a life of poverty and simplicity. He ate little, spoke little, and prayed each month at the gravesites of tzaddikim in Israel. His first wife, Rabbanit Sara, died in 1989. He remarried in 1993 to Rabbanit Dorit, a baalat teshuva who was just over half his age, in keeping with the Jewish tradition that says that a man, even in advanced old age, should not be single.Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in the Bikur Holim
Bikur Holim Hospital
Bikur Holim Hospital is a hospital in Jerusalem, Israel.-History:Bikur Holim first opened in a residential building in the Old City in 1826. In 1843, the hospital had only three rooms for patients. In 1854, a building was purchased which soon grew overcrowded...
hospital in Jerusalem, where there wasn't an authomatic artificial respirator, which was donated by a close person. He died at around 10 p.m. on January 28, 2006 (29 Tevet
Tevet
Tebet is the fourth month of the civil year and the tenth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It follows Kislev and precedes Shevat. It is a winter month of 29 days...
5766). He was alert and lucid until his last day.
An estimated 300,000 people took part in his funeral procession on January 29, which started from the Nachalat Yitzchak Yeshivah and wound its way through the streets of Jerusalem to the Givat Shaul
Givat Shaul
Givat Shaul is a neighborhood in western Jerusalem named after the Rishon Lezion, Rabbi Yaakov Shaul Elyashar, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, and not, as commonly believed, for the biblical King Saul, whose capital was probably located on the hill Gibeah of Saul near Pisgat Ze'ev, on the way...
cemetery near the entrance to the city of Jerusalem.
External links
- Exclusive video of funeral procession and burial
- Video of Kaduri visit in summer 2000 to Bet ElBet ElBeit El is an Israeli settlement and a local council in the Benjamin region of the central West Bank, within the borders of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council. The religiously observant town is located in the hills north of Jerusalem east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh. In 2009, it had a...
- Rav Kaduri Warns: Natural Disasters Awaiting the World
- The leading Kabbalist of our Generation, HaRav Yitzhaq Kaduri
- Rav Kaduri statement confirmed
- Sephardic Council obituary 1897 - 2006
- about.com obituary
- Kaduri Guardian obituary 1900-2006