Yitzhak Kaduri
Baghdad Vilayet | |
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Died | 28 January 2006 |
Religion | Judaism |
Nationality | Israeli |
Denomination | Sephardic Haredim |
Occupation | Rabbi, kabbalist |
Yitzhak Kaduri (
His funeral, which was held in Jerusalem, drew over half a million followers in what was described as the largest funeral in Israel's history.
Early life
Kaduri was born in Baghdad, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. His father, Rabbi Kadhuri Diba ben Aziza, was a spice trader. As a youngster, Kaduri excelled in his studies and began learning Kabbalah while still in his teens. He was a child student of Rabbi Yosef Hayyim and studied at the Zilka Yeshivah in Baghdad. He moved to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1923 and there changed his name from Diba to Kaduri.
Student of Kabbalah
He went to study at the Shoshanim LeDavid
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
During the period of
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.[citation needed] Kadouri said "It is forbidden to teach a non-Jew Kabbalah, not even Talmud, not even simple Torah;" perhaps referring to pop celebrity Madonna's publicised interest in Kabbalah; he also said that women (even Jewish) are not allowed to study Kabbalah.[3]
Blessings, amulets and prophecies
Over the years, thousands of people (mainly but not exclusively
His rise to fame, though, began when his son, Rabbi David Kaduri, who ran a poultry store in the
Kaduri's followers believed that he was able to predict events. In late 2004, Kaduri said "Great tragedies in the world are foreseen" two weeks before the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami; reporter Baruch Gordon of Arutz Sheva connected the two by saying Kaduri "predicted" the tragedy.[4]
Political involvement
Ahavat Yisrael אהבת ישראל | |
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Haredi interests | |
Election symbol | |
זנ | |
The last two decades of his life were marred by the controversial way that some would use him to promote various political parties during Israeli elections. Rabbi Kaduri achieved celebrity status during the
In October 1997, Benjamin Netanyahu, then in his first term as Prime Minister of Israel, came to visit Kaduri at his synagogue and was recorded as Netanyahu whispering in Kaduri's ear "the left has forgotten what it is to be a Jew". This was considered as a divisive action and resonated in the press.[5]
Final days and death
Kaduri lived a life of poverty and simplicity. He ate little, spoke little, and prayed each month at the gravesites of
In January 2006, Rabbi Kaduri was hospitalized with
An estimated 500,000 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 (also known as Har HaMenuchot) near the entrance to the city of Jerusalem.
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Funeral procession in the Bucharim neighbourhood of Jerusalem
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Tombstone of the Rosh HaMekubalim Yitzhak Kaduri
Messiah
Before his death, Kaduri had said that he expected the
Rabbi Tovia Singer translated the Hebrew words in the note as
“The nation will be raised up and it will become known that His word and His Torah stand.”[12]
He confirmed that the first letter of each of the Hebrew words in the note spells Yehoshua, the Hebrew name of the biblical Joshua (Yehoshua Ben Nun) who was the disciple of Moses. Joshua led the Israelites in their conquest of Canaan. "Yehoshua" is etymologically related to 'Jesus' in the original Greek Septuagint and New Testament. Singer said that the note does not spell Yeshua, the name used by messianic groups for Jesus Christ.[12] Singer also said that no member of Kaduri's family he spoke to knew anything about the note.[12]In addition, the name Yehoshua in the acrostic is misspelled; it contains an extra Vav. The text of the letter in question is ambiguous and does not explicitly refer to the Messiah's name. The letter's heading contains the word Dath (law) in Hebrew accompanied by quotes, which commonly signifies an abbreviation; alternatively, the quotes indicate that the word in question is not to be understood conventionally. In either case, there is no possible reading in the Hebrew language to indicate that the rabbi's intent was to publicise the name of the Messiah.
References
- ^ Wagner, Matthew (2006-02-06). "Judaism: The magic of the late Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
- TheGuardian.com. Archived from the originalon June 6, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ^ "Madonna to visit Israeli rabbis' graves". Associated Press. September 10, 2004.
- ^ Gordon, Baruch (21 September 2005). "Kabbalist Urges Jews to Israel Ahead of Upcoming Disasters". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ "רגעי חסד תקשורתיים: פליטות פה של פוליטיקאים - פוליטי מדיני - הארץ". Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
- nrg Maariv. January 29, 2006. Archivedfrom the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
- ^ "Rabbi Kaduri's Most Recent Words". Arutz Sheva. 2006-01-24. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ "A note of Rabbi Kaduri with the name of the messiah". News 1. 2007-01-18. Archived from the original on 2015-02-02. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- ^ "The note of Rabbi Kaduri - the messiah: Yehoshua". News 1. 2007-01-23. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- ^ "Image of the note of Rabbi Kaduri - the messiah: Yehoshua". Rabbi Kaduri's former official website. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- ^ Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "The Name of Jehovah in the Book of Esther, appendix 60, in Companion Bible". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
- ^ a b c "Rabbi Kaduri "Jesus as Messiah" Claim Proven as False". Breaking Israel News. 2015-06-17. Archived from the original on 2016-07-19. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
External links
Media related to Yitzchak Kaduri at Wikimedia Commons
- Video of Kaduri visit in summer 2000 to Bet El(in Hebrew)
- Obituary in the Jerusalem Post