4 Shevat – The Baba Sali3 min read
Rav Yisroel (ben Masoud) Abuchtzeira zy”a, best known as the Baba Sali (our praying father) passed away 4 Shevat 5744/1984. He was descendant from many great tzaddikim, including his grandfather, the Abir Yaakov, and Rav Shmuel Abuchatzeira, who was a talmid of Rav Chaim Vital.
The Baba Sali was known for living completely above nature, and there are many people living today who can personally attest to this. I heard from Rav Avrohom Schorr shlita that Rav Dovid Abuchatzeira shlita told him he remembers as a child that his grandfather, the Baba Sali, had no refrigerator, yet meat would last for weeks at a time without getting spoiled.
He passed away the day after Parshas Bo was read. The Ramban at the end of the parsha speaks about how all “nature is truly a miracle.” This is what the Baba Sali lived.
Rav Yoshiyahu Pinto shlita (a great grandson) writes that Rav Chaim Sholom Porush was sent by the Ozerover Rebbe (author of Aish Dos and Be’er Moshe) to check out who the Baba Sali is. He saw that the tzaddik was fluent in all of Torah and even in Sifrei Chassidus. He asked the Baba Sali how he knew Sifrei Chassidus so well. The Baba Sali responded that the author of Noam Elimelech appeared to him openly and the Baal Shem Tov appeared to him in a haze (Pninei Divrei Yoshiyohu, P. 258).
The Baba Sali passed away the Sunday of Parshas Beshalach. The Noam Elimelech (second to last piece in Likutei Shoshana, printed in back of Noam Elimelech) explains the pasuk ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה בתוך הים. He writes that there are tzaddikim who are constantly in dveikus and see the wonders of Hashem even on dry land – even miracles such as that of the splitting of the Yam Suf. This is what Baba Sali lived. Perhaps we may suggest that the words ישראל הלכו ביבשה בתוך הים allude to this tzaddik: Yisrael, (the Baba Sali’s name) sees miracles as great as the Yam Suf even on dry land, throughout every area of life. Incredibly, these words are equal in gematriya to הרב רבי ישראל בן רבי מסעוד.
In truth, this may be seen from the name he is known by, באבא סאלי, which is equal in gematriya to גלעד (or alternatively, בבא סאלי with 1 added for the kolel, as both spellings are used).
The Arizal teaches that the gematria of the letters before א־כ־ד־ט־מ) אלקים) represent a “sweetening” of the din, as these letters equal עד as in בטחו ביקוק עדי עד and עד with the kolel equals בטחון. By way of a Jew’s bitachon that Hashem is constantly involved in whatever happens (as the Name יקוק represents היה הוה ויהיה), the din is sweetened.
The א of “Elokim” doesn’t change because there is nothing before it. The ם gets changed to a מ. The remaining letters whose numerical value do change in the transformation equal גל. Together, this special name equals גלעד.
Because, as is well known, the Name אלקים equals הטבע, it emerges that the name, בבא סאלי, which equals גלעד, indicates having nothing to do with nature.
There are many amazing Baba Sali stories, but the following is a story we can all learn something practical from, as it is something all of us can do.
Rav Moshe Weinberger shlita (Aish Kodesh) said over the following story he read in one of the seforim of Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein shlita:
The Baba Sali was once sitting at a seuda when one of the guests starting telling tzaddik all of his troubles. He told that he has many daughters to marry off, that he and his wife have health issues, etc. The Baba Sali was very moved by the man’s pain.
Just then, Baba Sali’s son-in-law walked in. Baba Sali said: “Who asked you to come?” His son-in-law stood there, surprised, not knowing what to do. Baba Sali again said: Who asked you to come?” The son-in-law stood in silence.
The Baba Sali then said to his son-in-law, “Repeat after me: ‘A son-in-law is like a son, and a son can always come to his father.’” The son-in-law repeated these words. Looking to the heavens, the Baba Sali said out loud: “Ribono Shel Olam, I am also a son, and a son can come to his father whenever he wants. You are my Father, and I want to enter before You.” He then turned to the wall and poured out his heart in prayer.
After some time, he turned around and said to the man, “I prayed and I was answered.”
This tzaddik taught us that we can all come before our Father at any time we need. Perhaps this is why he was called “Baba Sali”, which means “praying father.”
Segula of the Baba Sali
The Sefer Pninei Divrei Yoshiyahu (Page 259) brings down a segula from the Baba Sali for one in need of a yeshua. Here is the exact text with translation below:
והנה שמענו בשם מו״ר זקננו סגולה להיוושע, לקיים במוצאי שבת קודש סעודת מלווה מלכה עם נטילת ידיים, ואחר הסעודה להדליק נרות לעילוי נשמת הבל שם טוב הקדוש, ה״נועם אלימלך״, ורבנו יעקב אבוחצירא זצוק״ל, אחר לתרום שמן למאור לעילוי נשמת רבי מאיר בעל הנס, ולבקש בקשה אחת ולא עוד. מי שעושה כן, מובטח לו שבקשתו תתמלא, ויפקד בדבר ישועה ורחמים
“I heard a segula for a yeshuah in the name of my great-grandfather (the Baba Sali). On Motzei Shabbos, have the meal of Melava Malka with netillas yadayim. After the meal, light three candles li’iluy nishmas the Baal Shem Tov (Rav Yisroel ben Rav Eliezer), the Noam Elimelech (Rav Elimelech ben Rav Eliezar Lipman) and Rav Yaakov Abuchatzeira (Abir Yaakov, grandfather of Baba Sali, Rav Yaakov ben Rav Masoud). After this, set aside shemen la’meor li’iluy nishmas Rebbi Meir Baal Haness [This was oil dedicated to enable people to learn Torah at night. My understanding is that the contemporary equivalent would be to set aside money to pay for lights so people can learn Torah at night – DF], and ask for one thing, no more. One who does this is assured that his request will be fulfilled and will be remembered for yeshuah and rachamim.”
Zechuso yagein aleinu!
