Can Tzaddikim Change Decrees?
During his first visit to Israel in 1921, Baba Sali, zs'l, then a young man in his thirties, came to the city of the kabbalists,[+/-] show/hide text
Tsfat. There, he met many great Torah sages, among them the renowned Rabbi Shlomo Eliezer Alfandri, zs'l, who was already past one hundred years of age. The two sat and discussed Kabbalah for a long time.
During this sojourn in Tsfat, the miraculous kabbalistic powers of Baba Sali were revealed. Rabbi Moshe Shetrit, who was one of his first attendants and about twelve years old at the time, described the events that took place. [There are still people in Tsfat who had witnessed the miracle).
"One day, not long after we arrived in Jerusalem, the Rav asked me to call a taxi so that he could visit the holy city of Tsfat. When we arrived, he was greeted by the leading rabbis of the community and escorted to an apartment. After he rested, he summoned me and asked me to find the person who held the key to the AriZal Synagogue, for he wished to pray there. Everyone was amazed because this shul had been locked up for a long time and visitors were not allowed. We were told this was because many people had mysteriously lost their lives there.
"The Rav went to the Mikvah of the Holy Ari of blessed memory and I went to find the key to the barred synagogue. The people of the city led me to an old man. When I requested the key, he refused. I explained that Baba Sali had sent me, but he remained steadfast in his decision not to give me the key. 'I will not give the key to anyone,' he declared. 'It would be as if I am taking a life.'
"I pleaded with the man and said that I could not return to the Rav without the key. After a while he reluctantly consented. But he said that both Baba Sali and the key would have to be bound to a rope so that they could be retrieved afterwards, so sure was he that the outcome would be tragic.
"He accompanied me to the synagogue, and I gave the Rav the key. The old man sat on a large rock nearby, trembling in anticipation of the coming tragedy. Baba Sali instructed me to hold on to his tzitzit and go in with him. We passed through the synagogue's outer gates and then entered the courtyard.
"The Rav walked along the right side of the courtyard and then entered the synagogue, imbued with intense religious fervor. When he opened the door, the inside of the synagogue was bright with light. Although it was nearly dusk, shining daylight filled the room!
"Baba Sali then pushed aside the curtain in front of the Holy Ark, unfastened the door, and opened a Torah scroll. For several minutes he read from it. Afterwards we sat down on one of the benches in the synagogue. The Rav turned to me and said, 'You can let go of my tsitsit now.' We prayed Minchah and then departed. When we walked out, the old man ran to Baba Sali and embraced and kissed him, speechless with joy.
"This visit became the talk of the city, and thousands flocked to the synagogue, now that the Rav had opened its doors."
Read Reb Lazer's post regarding a dream and a warning from the Baba Sali, click HERE
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Tsfat. There, he met many great Torah sages, among them the renowned Rabbi Shlomo Eliezer Alfandri, zs'l, who was already past one hundred years of age. The two sat and discussed Kabbalah for a long time.
During this sojourn in Tsfat, the miraculous kabbalistic powers of Baba Sali were revealed. Rabbi Moshe Shetrit, who was one of his first attendants and about twelve years old at the time, described the events that took place. [There are still people in Tsfat who had witnessed the miracle).
"One day, not long after we arrived in Jerusalem, the Rav asked me to call a taxi so that he could visit the holy city of Tsfat. When we arrived, he was greeted by the leading rabbis of the community and escorted to an apartment. After he rested, he summoned me and asked me to find the person who held the key to the AriZal Synagogue, for he wished to pray there. Everyone was amazed because this shul had been locked up for a long time and visitors were not allowed. We were told this was because many people had mysteriously lost their lives there.
"The Rav went to the Mikvah of the Holy Ari of blessed memory and I went to find the key to the barred synagogue. The people of the city led me to an old man. When I requested the key, he refused. I explained that Baba Sali had sent me, but he remained steadfast in his decision not to give me the key. 'I will not give the key to anyone,' he declared. 'It would be as if I am taking a life.'
"I pleaded with the man and said that I could not return to the Rav without the key. After a while he reluctantly consented. But he said that both Baba Sali and the key would have to be bound to a rope so that they could be retrieved afterwards, so sure was he that the outcome would be tragic.
"He accompanied me to the synagogue, and I gave the Rav the key. The old man sat on a large rock nearby, trembling in anticipation of the coming tragedy. Baba Sali instructed me to hold on to his tzitzit and go in with him. We passed through the synagogue's outer gates and then entered the courtyard.
"The Rav walked along the right side of the courtyard and then entered the synagogue, imbued with intense religious fervor. When he opened the door, the inside of the synagogue was bright with light. Although it was nearly dusk, shining daylight filled the room!
"Baba Sali then pushed aside the curtain in front of the Holy Ark, unfastened the door, and opened a Torah scroll. For several minutes he read from it. Afterwards we sat down on one of the benches in the synagogue. The Rav turned to me and said, 'You can let go of my tsitsit now.' We prayed Minchah and then departed. When we walked out, the old man ran to Baba Sali and embraced and kissed him, speechless with joy.
"This visit became the talk of the city, and thousands flocked to the synagogue, now that the Rav had opened its doors."
Read Reb Lazer's post regarding a dream and a warning from the Baba Sali, click HERE
Labels: Teshuva
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