• | Print |
•  Email

Parshat Vayishlach
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Inviting the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

וַיָּבֹא יַעֲקֹב אֶל יִצְחָק אָבִיו מַמְרֵא קִרְיַת הָאַרְבַּע הִוא חֶבְרוֹן אֲשֶׁר גָּר שָׁם אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק

'And may our eyes see in Your return to Zion with compassion. Blessed are You HaShem Who returns His Presence to Zion...'

Our Father Yakov's return to the Holy Land after HaShem tells him to return in last week's parsha culminates in this parsha in Hebron, where Yakov settles permanently, in the midst of his fathers Avraham and Yitzhak, who all endeared Hebron. One of the figures of Hebron who endeared the Holy Presence in the Holy Land and also came to settle in this Land and Hebron, was the great kabbalist and chief rabbi of Hebron, Rabbi Eliyahu Mani.

Rabbi Mani was born in Baghdad in 5578 to descendants of King David, as his name is an acronym: Menetzer Nin Yishai (descendant of Yishai, father of David). Rabbi Mani became a pupil of Rabbi Abdalla Somech, one of the leading Rabbis of Iraq, and also married his daughter. Even as a pupil, Elyahu Mani was attached to the study of Kabbalah. He also had the custom of fasting and sleeping on stone in order to join/emulate with the 'suffering' of the Holy Presence in exile.

In 5616 (1856 CE) he decided to move to the Land of Israel. When his community objected to his move, his brother-in-law, the Ben Ish Hai (Rabbi Yosef Haim of Baghdad) convinced them that in order to continue in his kabbalistic studies Rabbi Mani must move to study in the Kabbalistic Yeshiva Bet El in Jerusalem. Rabbi moved to Jerusalem and studied in the Kabbalistic Yeshiva Bet El till 5618, at which he moved to Hebron, for he felt that the weather in Jerusalem caused him to be sick.

Six years later, when the chief Rabbi of Hebron, Rabbi Moshe Ferera, passed away, Rabbi Mani was appointed as the chief Rabbi of Hebron in his stead. For fourteen years Rabbi Mani held this position without receiving any stipend whatsoever, doing so for the sake of Heaven. During these years Rabbi Mani would sign his name with the addition: 'servant of the holy city of Hebron, for the sake of uniting the Holy Blessed be He with the Holy Presence.' Rabbi Mani also established a synagogue called 'Beit Yakov' where he instituted prayers according to kabbalistic intent and practices according to the Kabbalistic Yeshiva Bet El of Jerusalem.

Rabbi Mani held regular correspondence with his brother-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Haim - the Ben Ish Hai, who brings much of the kabbalistic practices of the Yeshiva Bet El in his famous halachic work the 'Ben Ish Hai', based on his brother-in-law's testimony. The Ben Ish Hai even considered Rabbi Mani has his rabbi and master in kabbalistic studies. Rabbi Mani also had considerable influence on the Jewry of the Orient, and he convinced hundreds of these Jews to settle in the Land of Israel in general, and Hebron in specific.

Rabbi Mani passed away on the 8th of Tamuz 5658 and was buried in the Rabbi's Section of Hebron's Ancient Cemetery. In difference with the regular custom to bury the dead with their legs facing Jerusalem, Rabbi Mani asked that he and his wife's legs be directed towards the Maarat HaMachpela. Indeed, when visiting the cemetery today, the tombs of Rabbi Mani and his wife strike out as they face the Maarat HaMachpela. It may be that Rabbi Mani's intent by this request was to show the dominant place of Hebron in the journey to and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, just as King David, Rabbi Mani's ancestor, did in his reign and spiritual work in Hebron before reigning in Jerusalem.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Real Stories from the Holy Land #245

'We were looking for an apartment before our wedding and we didn't find anything for a long time. Meanwhile, someone offered to leave his caravan, which was in danger of collapsing, so we could repair it and then move into it. However, they could only move out two weeks after our wedding. Suddenly, a week before the wedding, we were told that the previous residents had just moved out, and that we could move in. Within two days we finished the repairs with 2000 NIS and then moved our belongings in before the wedding. Because of the repairs we made, we were given free rent for three years.'

Sources: Wikipedia on Rabbi Eliyahu Mani

Comments, questions, and/or stories,email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.