Biography of the Baba Sali, Mystical Moroccan Rabbi

Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, the Baba Sali.

Thousands flocked to the Baba Sali both during his lifetime and on the annual memorial of his passing for miracles of healing and salvation. But the Baba Sali rejected all honor and insisted the miracles came not from him, but through the individual’s faith in God. Learn about Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira and his illustrious family of sages: Rabbi Shmuel Elbaz, the Father of the Carpet, the musical poems of the Abir Yaakov, and the cruel execution of Rabbi David Abuhatzeira during the battles between the French and Moroccans. And finally, the story of the Baba Sali who settled in a working-class desert town in Israel’s south and brought with him a tradition of asceticism and faith.

A portrait of the Baba Sali at his memorial ceremony in Netivot, Israel. Credit: Ben Bresky

The Hillula of the Baba Sali. Oud, tambourines, and dancing. The dome shaped tomb in the background. Credit: Nati Harnik, Israeli Government Press Office, February 2, 1987.

A Torah on the table in front of the synagogue and tomb of the Baba Sali in Netivot, Israel. Credit: Ben Bresky, 2011

NOTES:

• Interview with Baba Sali assistant David Golan

• Yodu Lecha Rayonai by the Baba Sali - National Library of Israel

• Yodu Lecha Rayonai by the Baba Sali - Torah-Box