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{{Short description|Israeli Haredi rabbi and kabbalist (c. 1898–2006)}}
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{{Infobox Jewish leader
'''Yitzchak Kaduri''', also spelled '''Kadouri''', '''Kadourie''', '''Kedourie'''; "]" also spelled '''Yitzhak''' (died January 28 2006),<ref>{{cite news|last = Wagner|first = Matthew|title = Judaism: The magic of the late Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri|work = Features|publisher = ]|date = 2006-02-06|url = http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1138622536007&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|accessdate = 2008-09-13|archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5wRWijFrF |archivedate = 2011-02-12|deadurl=no}}</ref> was a renowned ] ] and ] who devoted his life to ] study and ] on behalf of the ]ish people. He taught and practiced the ''kavanot'' of the ]. His blessings and ]s were also widely sought to cure people of illnesses and ]. In his life, he published no religious articles or books.<ref> {{WebCite|url=http://www.webcitation.org/5wRWkeG3W|date =2011-02-12}}</ref> At the time of his death, estimates of his age ranged from 110 to 118.
| honorific-prefix = ]
| name = Yitzhak Kaduri
| honorific-suffix =
| title =
| image = Flickr_-_Government_Press_Office_(GPO)_-_P.M._Netanyahu_and_Rabbi_Kaduri_(cropped).jpg
| caption =
| synagogue =
| synagogueposition =
| yeshiva =
| yeshivaposition =
| organisation =
| organisationposition =
| began =
| ended =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| rabbi =
| rebbe =
| kohan =
| hazzan =
| rank =
| other_post =
<!---------- Personal details ---------->
| birth_name = Yitzhak Diba
| birth_date = c. 1898
| birth_place = ], ]
| death_date = 28 January 2006
| death_place = ], Israel
| buried =
| nationality = ]i
| denomination = ]
| residence =
| dynasty =
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}}


'''Yitzhak Kaduri''' ({{Langx|he|יצחק כדורי}}, {{langx|ar|إسحاق الخضوري}}), also spelled '''Kadouri''', '''Kadourie''', '''Kedourie'''; "]" ({{circa|1898}} – 28 January 2006),<ref>{{cite news|last=Wagner |first=Matthew |title=Judaism: The magic of the late Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri |newspaper=] |date=2006-02-06 |url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1138622536007&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |access-date=2008-09-13 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110212133611/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1138622536007&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |archive-date=2011-02-12 |url-status=live }}</ref> was a ] ] and ]. He taught and practiced the ''kavanot'' of the ]. His supposedly magic ]s (which were made in Taiwan) were distributed to voters before the Israeli election in May, 1996, in exchange for their votes for ] and the ] party. During his lifetime he published no religious articles or books.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jan/31/guardianobituaries.israel |title=Obituary: Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri &#124; World news &#124; the Guardian |website=] |access-date=May 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606010206/http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/jan/31/guardianobituaries.israel |archive-date=June 6, 2010 }} "In May 1996 he probably swung the crucial balance of 29,000 voters who ensured that the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu was elected prime minister of Israel.
==Youth==
He did so by distributing thousands of "magic" amulets to his devotees, who were then obliged to vote for Netanyahu in the prime ministerial poll and for the Orthodox Shas party in the simultaneous party elections... Conventionally Orthodox Jews... enjoyed pointing out that his supposedly divine amulets were marked "Made in Taiwan"."</ref> At the time of his death, estimates of his age ranged from 103 to 108, and his birth year is still disputed.
He was born in ], which was then part of the ] '']'', to Rabbi Katchouri Diba ben Aziza, a spice trader. His exact year of birth is unknown.


His funeral, which was held in Jerusalem, drew over half a million followers in what was described at the time as the largest funeral in Israel's history.
As a youngster, Kaduri excelled in his studies and began learning ] while still in his teens, a study that would last his entire life. He was a student of the '']'' (Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad) and studied at the ] Yeshivah in ].


==Early life==
Rabbi Kaduri moved to the ] (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 ] in the post-] state. It was here that he changed his name from Diba to Kaduri.
Kaduri was born in ], which was then part of the ]. His father, Rabbi Kadhuri Diba ben Aziza, was a spice trader. As a youngster, Kaduri excelled in his studies and began learning ] while still in his teens. He was a child student of Rabbi ] and studied at the Zilka Yeshivah in ]. He moved to the ] in 1923 and there changed his name from Diba to Kaduri.


==Student of Kabbalah== ==Student of Kabbalah==
He went to study at the ] ] for ] from Iraq. There he learned from the leading kabbalists of the time, including ], author of ''Beit Lechem Yehudah'', and Rabbi ], author of ''Kaf Hachaim''. He later immersed himself in regular ]ic study and rabbinical law in the ] in Jerusalem's ], where he also studied Kabbalah with the Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi ], Rabbi ] (father of Sephardic Chief Rabbi ]), and other learned rabbis. He went to study at the Shoshanim LeDavid ] for ] from Iraq. There he learned from the leading kabbalists of the time, including ], author of ''Beit Lechem Yehudah'', and Rabbi ], author of ''Kaf Hachaim''. He later immersed himself in regular ]ic study and rabbinical law in the ] in Jerusalem's ], where he also studied Kabbalah with the Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi ], Rabbi Saliman Eliyahu (father of Sephardic Chief Rabbi ]), 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 ] and also mastered the ] by heart, including the adjoining ] and ] commentaries. 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 ] and also mastered the ] by heart, including the adjoining ] and ] commentaries.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}}


During the period of ]-]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 ]ian Army during the ], the Jordanians set fire to the yeshivah and all surrounding houses, destroying all the books and manuscripts that Rabbi Kaduri could not smuggle to ] (''Yeshivat HaMekubalim'') in Jerusalem. He knew all the writings of Rabbi ], the founder of modern Kabbalah, by heart. After the passing of the leading kabbalist, Rabbi ], in 1989, the remaining kabbalists appointed Rabbi Kaduri as their head. During the period of ]-]i friction that led up to the ], 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 ]ian Army, the Jordanians set fire to the yeshivah and all surrounding houses, destroying all the books and manuscripts that Rabbi Kaduri could not smuggle to ] (''Yeshivat HaMekubalim'') in Jerusalem. He knew all the writings of Rabbi ], 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.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}}


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 ]. "Kabbalah should not be taught to non-Jews," he explained. 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 "]", the popular dissemination of advice or amulets, often for a price.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}} Kadouri said "It is forbidden to teach a non-Jew Kabbalah, not even Talmud, not even simple Torah;" perhaps referring to ] Madonna's publicised interest in Kabbalah; he also said that women (even Jewish) are not allowed to study Kabbalah.<ref>{{cite news|title=Madonna to visit Israeli rabbis' graves|agency=Associated Press |date=September 10, 2004}}</ref>


==Blessings, amulets and prophecies== ==Blessings, amulets and prophecies==


Over the years, thousands of people (mainly but not exclusively ]) would come to seek his advice, blessings and ]s which he would create specifically for the individual in need. He had learned the Kabbalistic secrets of the amulets from his teacher, Rabbi ]. 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. Over the years, thousands of people (mainly but not exclusively ]) would come to seek his advice, blessings and ]s which he would create specifically for the individual in need. He had learned the Kabbalistic secrets of the amulets from his teacher, Rabbi ]. 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 ] problems, finding a spouse, and economic blessings.{{original research inline|date=April 2014}}


His rise to fame, though, began when his son, Rabbi ], who ran a poultry store in the ] Market, decided to found a proper yeshivah organization under his father. Called ], it was located adjacent to the family home in the Bukharim neighbourhood of ]. His grandson, ], took part in this endeavour with him. His rise to fame, though, began when his son, Rabbi David Kaduri, who ran a poultry store in the ] Market, decided to found a proper yeshivah organization under his father. Called Nachalat Yitzchak yeshiva, it was located adjacent to the family home in the Bukharim neighbourhood of ]. His grandson, Yossi Kaduri, took part in this endeavour with him.


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 ]; reporter Baruch Gordon of ] connected the two by saying Kaduri "predicted" the tragedy.<ref name="arutz_sheva_2005_09_21">{{cite news|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/89850|title=Kabbalist Urges Jews to Israel Ahead of Upcoming Disasters|publisher=]|date=21 September 2005|access-date=August 6, 2012|last=Gordon |first=Baruch}}</ref>
Kaduri reportedly received blessings from the '']'' (Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad) in 1908<ref name=arutz_sheva_2005_10_19/> and from ] (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson) in 1990<ref name=arutz_sheva_2005_09_21/> 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.


==Political involvement==
Kaduri was seen as a prophesier. In late 2004, Kaduri said "Great tragedies in the world are foreseen" two weeks before the ]; reporter Baruch Gordon of ] connected the two by saying Kaduri "predicted" the tragedy.<ref name=arutz_sheva_2005_09_21>{{cite news | url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/89850#.UCABYSPfu5k | title=Kabbalist Urges Jews to Israel Ahead of Upcoming Disasters | work=Israel National News | date=21 September 2005 | accessdate=August 06, 2012 | author=Gordon, Baruch}}</ref> In 2005, Kaduri made predictions of further natural disasters.<ref name=arutz_sheva_2005_10_19>{{cite news | url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=91417 | title=Leading Kabbalist Urges Jews to Israel - More Disasters Coming | work=Israel National News | date=2005 Oct 19 | accessdate=August 06, 2012}}</ref>
{{Infobox political party
|name = Ahavat Yisrael
|colorcode = #2E4297
|native_name = {{Script/Hebrew|אהבת ישראל}}
|lang1 =
|lang1_name =
|lang2 =
|lang2_name =
|lang3 =
|lang3_name =
|lang4 =
|lang4_name =
|logo = AhavatIsrael.png
|logo_size = 200px
|leader = Yitzhak Kaduri
|founded = 2003
|dissolved = 2003
|merger =
|split = {{nowrap|]}}
|merged = {{nowrap|]}}
|ideology = ] <br> ] <br> ] <br> ] interests
|national =
|international =
|europarl =
|affiliation1_title =
|affiliation1 =
|symbol = {{Script/Hebrew|זנ}}
|website =
|country = Israel
}}


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 ] when he was flown by ] to multiple political rallies in support of the ] party, and for amulets that were produced in his name for supporters of that party.
==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 ] when he was flown by ] to multiple political rallies in support of the ] party, and for amulets that were produced in his name for supporters of that party.


In October 1997, ], who was then in his first term as ], 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<ref> {{WebCite|url=http://www.webcitation.org/5wRWmkQbp|date =2011-02-12}}</ref>. In October 1997, ], then in his first term as ], 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1085803.html |title=רגעי חסד תקשורתיים: פליטות פה של פוליטיקאים - פוליטי מדיני - הארץ |access-date=May 16, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605023528/http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1085803.html |archive-date=June 5, 2011 }}</ref>


==Final days== ==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 ]im in Israel. His first wife, ] Sara, died in 1989. He remarried in 1993 to Rabbanit Dorit, a ] just over half his age.
]
]
Kaduri lived a life of poverty and simplicity. He ate little, spoke little, and prayed each month at the gravesites of ]im in Israel. His first wife, ] Sara, died in 1989. He remarried in 1993 to ] Dorit, a ] who was just over half his age.


In January 2006, Rabbi Kaduri was hospitalized with ] in the ] hospital in Jerusalem, where there wasn't an automatic artificial respirator, which was donated by a close person. He died at around 10&nbsp;p.m. on January 28, 2006 (29 ] 5766). He was alert and lucid until his last day. In January 2006, Rabbi Kaduri was hospitalized with ] in the ] in Jerusalem. He died at around 10&nbsp;p.m. January 28, 2006 (29 ] 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 ] cemetery near the entrance to the city of ]. 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 ] cemetery (also known as ]) near the entrance to the city of ].
<gallery widths=180>
File:Kaduri funeral.JPG|Funeral procession in the Bucharim neighbourhood of Jerusalem
File:Grave of Yitzhak Kaduri.jpg|Tombstone of the ''Rosh HaMekubalim'' Yitzhak Kaduri
</gallery>


==Messiah== ==Messiah==
]
Before his death, Kaduri had said that he expected the ] to arrive soon, and that he had met him a year earlier.<ref name=Maariv>, retrieved May 22, 2012</ref><ref name=arutz_sheva_2006_01_24>{{cite news | url=http://www.webcitation.org/69kU8bTtI | title=Rabbi Kaduri´s Most Recent Words | work=Israel National News | date=2006 Jan 24 | accessdate=August 06, 2012}}</ref> It has been alleged that he left a hand-written note reading "ירים העם ויוכיח שדברו ותורתו עומדים" (translated as "he will raise the people and confirm that his word and law are standing"), which by acronym suggested the name "Yehoshua."<ref name=news1_note>{{cite news | url=http://www.webcitation.org/69kUGS3rF | title=A note of Rabbi Kaduri with the name of the messiah | work=News First Class | date=2007 Jan 18 | accessdate=August 06, 2012}}</ref><ref name=news1_note_image>{{cite news | url=http://www.webcitation.org/69kUzA81j | title=The note of Rabbi Kaduri - the messiah: Yehoshua | work=News First Class | date=2007 Jan 23 | accessdate=August 06, 2012}}</ref>
Before his death, Kaduri had said that he expected the ], the ], to arrive soon, and that he had met him a year earlier.<ref name=Maariv>{{cite news|url=http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/040/022.html |archive-date=July 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724061626/http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/040/022.html |url-status=live |publisher=] |script-title=he:הרב כדורי הלך לעולמו |language=he |trans-title=Rav Kaduri dies |date=January 29, 2006 |access-date=September 7, 2014 }}</ref><ref name=arutz_sheva_2006_01_24>{{cite news|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/97225 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908091431/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/97225 |archive-date=September 8, 2014 |url-status=live |title=Rabbi Kaduri's Most Recent Words |publisher=] |date=2006-01-24 |access-date=August 6, 2012 }}</ref> Some of his followers said that he left them a hand-written note and they were reportedly instructed to only open the note after Rabbi Kaduri had been dead for one year. After this time period had passed, the note was supposedly opened by these followers and was found to read, "{{Script/Hebrew|ירים העם ויוכיח שדברו ותורתו עומדים}}" (''Yarim ha-am veyokhiakh shedvaro vetorato omdim''; translated as "he will raise the people and confirm that his word and law are standing"), which, by taking the first letter of each word, reads {{Script/Hebrew|יהושוע}}, "]".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news1.co.il/Archive/001-D-120924-00.html |title=A note of Rabbi Kaduri with the name of the messiah |work=News 1 |date=2007-01-18 |access-date=2013-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202051536/http://www.news1.co.il/Archive/001-D-121332-00.html |archive-date=2015-02-02 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.news1.co.il/Archive/001-D-121332-00.html|title=The note of Rabbi Kaduri - the messiah: Yehoshua| work=News 1 | date=2007-01-23 | access-date=2013-09-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kaduri.net/_uploads/extraimg/note3.jpg |title=Image of the note of Rabbi Kaduri - the messiah: Yehoshua |work=Rabbi Kaduri's former official website |access-date=2013-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017025056/http://www.kaduri.net/_uploads/extraimg/note3.jpg |archive-date=2013-10-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Such ]s are a well recognised phenomenon in the Tanakh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.therain.org/appendixes/app60.html |first=Ethelbert William |last=Bullinger |author-link=E. W. Bullinger |title=The Name of Jehovah in the Book of Esther, appendix 60, in ''Companion Bible'' |access-date=2016-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224342/http://www.therain.org/appendixes/app60.html |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


] translated the Hebrew words in the note as <blockquote>“The nation will be raised up and it will become known that His word and His Torah stand.”<ref name= TS /></blockquote> He confirmed that the first letter of each of the Hebrew words in the note spells Yehoshua, the Hebrew name of both the biblical Joshua (]) who was the disciple of Moses who led the Israelites in their conquest of Canaan; as well as Jesus of Nazareth (transliterated to 'Jesus’ via the Greek Septuagint). Singer contended that the note does not spell ], the contraction of Yehoshua, used by messianic groups for the English translation (via Greek) “Jesus Christ”.<ref name= TS>{{cite news|url=http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/43554/rabbi-kaduri-jesus-as-messiah-claim-discredited-as-false-jewish-world/ |title=Rabbi Kaduri "Jesus as Messiah" Claim Proven as False|work=Breaking Israel News|date=2015-06-17|access-date=2 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719064145/http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/43554/rabbi-kaduri-jesus-as-messiah-claim-discredited-as-false-jewish-world/|archive-date= 2016-07-19}}</ref> Singer also said that no member of Kaduri's family he spoke to knew anything about the note.<ref name= TS />
==References==
{{reflist}}


{{-}}
== External links ==

* ] {{he icon}}
==References==
*
{{Reflist}}
*


==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}
* ] {{in lang|he}}
*
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{{Porat Yosef Yeshiva}} {{Porat Yosef Yeshiva}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see ]. -->

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| PLACE OF DEATH =
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaduri, Yitzchak}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaduri, Yitzchak}}
]
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Latest revision as of 21:27, 22 December 2024

Israeli Haredi rabbi and kabbalist (c. 1898–2006)
RabbiYitzhak Kaduri
Personal life
BornYitzhak Diba
c. 1898
Baghdad, Baghdad Vilayet
Died28 January 2006
Jerusalem, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
OccupationRabbi, kabbalist
Religious life
ReligionJudaism
DenominationSephardic Haredim

Yitzhak Kaduri (Hebrew: יצחק כדורי, Arabic: إسحاق الخضوري), also spelled Kadouri, Kadourie, Kedourie; "Yitzhak" (c. 1898 – 28 January 2006), was a Haredi rabbi and kabbalist. He taught and practiced the kavanot of the Rashash. His supposedly magic amulets (which were made in Taiwan) were distributed to voters before the Israeli election in May, 1996, in exchange for their votes for Benjamin Netanyahu and the Shas party. During his lifetime he published no religious articles or books. At the time of his death, estimates of his age ranged from 103 to 108, and his birth year is still disputed.

His funeral, which was held in Jerusalem, drew over half a million followers in what was described at the time 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 Yeshiva 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 Yaakov Chaim Sofer, author of Kaf Hachaim. He later immersed himself in regular Talmudic 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 photographic memory and also mastered the Talmud by heart, including the adjoining Rashi and Tosafot commentaries.

During the period of Arab-Israeli friction that led up to the 1948 Arab–Israeli 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 Jordanian Army, 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. 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.

Blessings, amulets and prophecies

Over the years, thousands of people (mainly but not exclusively Sephardi Jews) would come to seek his advice, blessings and amulets which he would create specifically for the individual in need. He had learned the Kabbalistic secrets of the amulets from his teacher, Rabbi Yehuda Fatiyah. 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 Bukharim Market, decided to found a proper yeshivah organization under his father. Called Nachalat Yitzchak yeshiva, it was located adjacent to the family home in the Bukharim neighbourhood of Jerusalem. His grandson, Yossi Kaduri, took part in this endeavour with him.

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.

Political involvement

Ahavat Yisrael אהבת ישראל‎
LeaderYitzhak Kaduri
Founded2003
Dissolved2003
Split fromShas
Merged intoShas
IdeologyZionism
Populism
Social conservatism
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 1996 Knesset elections 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, 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.

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 tzaddikim in Israel. His first wife, Rabbanit Sara, died in 1989. He remarried in 1993 to Rabbanit Dorit, a baalat teshuva just over half his age.

In January 2006, Rabbi Kaduri was hospitalized with pneumonia in the Bikur Holim Hospital in Jerusalem. He died at around 10 p.m. January 28, 2006 (29 Tevet 5766). He was alert and lucid until his last day.

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.

  • Funeral procession in the Bucharim neighbourhood of Jerusalem Funeral procession in the Bucharim neighbourhood of Jerusalem
  • Tombstone of the Rosh HaMekubalim Yitzhak Kaduri Tombstone of the Rosh HaMekubalim Yitzhak Kaduri

Messiah

The note in question, sealed to be opened posthumously

Before his death, Kaduri had said that he expected the Mashiach, the Jewish Messiah, to arrive soon, and that he had met him a year earlier. Some of his followers said that he left them a hand-written note and they were reportedly instructed to only open the note after Rabbi Kaduri had been dead for one year. After this time period had passed, the note was supposedly opened by these followers and was found to read, "ירים העם ויוכיח שדברו ותורתו עומדים‎" (Yarim ha-am veyokhiakh shedvaro vetorato omdim; translated as "he will raise the people and confirm that his word and law are standing"), which, by taking the first letter of each word, reads יהושוע‎, "Yehoshua". Such acrostics are a well recognised phenomenon in the Tanakh.

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.”

He confirmed that the first letter of each of the Hebrew words in the note spells Yehoshua, the Hebrew name of both the biblical Joshua (Yehoshua Ben Nun) who was the disciple of Moses who led the Israelites in their conquest of Canaan; as well as Jesus of Nazareth (transliterated to 'Jesus’ via the Greek Septuagint). Singer contended that the note does not spell Y’shua, the contraction of Yehoshua, used by messianic groups for the English translation (via Greek) “Jesus Christ”. Singer also said that no member of Kaduri's family he spoke to knew anything about the note.

References

  1. 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.
  2. "Obituary: Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri | World news | the Guardian". TheGuardian.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2009. "In May 1996 he probably swung the crucial balance of 29,000 voters who ensured that the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu was elected prime minister of Israel. He did so by distributing thousands of "magic" amulets to his devotees, who were then obliged to vote for Netanyahu in the prime ministerial poll and for the Orthodox Shas party in the simultaneous party elections... Conventionally Orthodox Jews... enjoyed pointing out that his supposedly divine amulets were marked "Made in Taiwan"."
  3. "Madonna to visit Israeli rabbis' graves". Associated Press. September 10, 2004.
  4. Gordon, Baruch (21 September 2005). "Kabbalist Urges Jews to Israel Ahead of Upcoming Disasters". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  5. "רגעי חסד תקשורתיים: פליטות פה של פוליטיקאים - פוליטי מדיני - הארץ". Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  6. הרב כדורי הלך לעולמו [Rav Kaduri dies] (in Hebrew). nrg Maariv. January 29, 2006. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  7. "Rabbi Kaduri's Most Recent Words". Arutz Sheva. 2006-01-24. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  8. "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.
  9. "The note of Rabbi Kaduri - the messiah: Yehoshua". News 1. 2007-01-23. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  10. "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.
  11. 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.
  12. ^ "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

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