On the occasion of the Yartzeit (anniversary of passing) of our teacher Rav Yitzchak Kaduri, the Torah-Box team is happy to present you with a brief account of his life. Whoever speaks of a Tzaddik on the day of his Hilula, the latter will pray for him! Light a candle and say "Lichvod Harav Kaduri, zechuto yaguen aleinu" then pray. May his merit protect all of Klal Israel, Amen!

The 29th of Tevet marks the day of the death of the Mekubal Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri. He was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1898, although the year of his birth is controversial. What is certain, however, is that he was born on the 16th of Tishri, the second day of Sukkot, which is the day of the Ushpiz- Yitzchak Avinu, whom he was thus named after. In his youth, he went to learn in the Beit Hamidrash Beth Zalka where he met the Ben Ish Chai. At the age of 17, he was already considered a "genius" in Torah study, and he even lectured to great Torah scholars in Baghdad.

Before the establishment of the state in 1922, Rabbi Kaduri went to Israel and learned in Yeshivat "Porat Yosef" and "Shoshanim Ledavid". He married Sarah, with whom he had two children, David and Rachel. After the establishment of the state, he began to learn in the Yeshiva of Kabbalists "Beth El", and after a while, he directed the Yeshiva of Kabbalists "Nachalat Yitzchak".

We spoke with his grandson, Rabbi Yisrael, who nostalgically recounts the extraordinary stories he witnessed and he revealed for the first time small anecdotes from the life of his remarkable grandfather.

"Rabbi Yitzchak was a holy man and a genius in the realm of the hidden Torah," his grandson recounts. ''He loved learning Torah, and he studied day and night. Likewise, when he went to bed at the wee hours of the night, I always saw him holding the book he was learning until he fell asleep.

He earned his livelihood as a bookbinder, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem at the time nicknamed him "Rabbi Yitzchak the binder". When he studied at the Yeshiva of the Mekubalim Oz V’hadar of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva in the Old City, my grandfather received an apartment with two large rooms for his family, while other Rabbanim received smaller apartments. My grandfather bound all the books of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva, and for this reason, the Yeshiva provided a spacious apartment for him to have a place to bind the books.

The Porat Yosef Yeshiva possessed many books, including some rare ones (some say that Rabbi Eliyahu Mani, Rav of the city of Chevron, had bequeathed before his death all his library to the Yeshiva). My grandfather thus discovered many rare books, including commentaries of the Torah according to the simple meaning and according to Kabbalah.

Additionally, private people and Rabbanim brought him their books to bind. He bound them so well that these volumes stayed bound for many years, some until today, without tearing or spoiling.

But he was not content to simply bind the books. He used to learn the book from beginning to end, and then he bound it. Rav Yosef Ades, one of the Rabbanim of Yeshivat Porat Yosef said regarding this: "Rabbi Yitzchak bound and devoured them at the same time", meaning, that he learned the entire book.

The Chief Rabbi of Israel, Gaon Rav Yitzchak Nissim, also brought his books to my grandfather to bind, but he waited two or three weeks, and the work was still not finished. The Rav was surprised and asked my grandfather for the reason for such a delay. Rabbi Yitzchak replied with a smile, "I have not finished learning all the books that your honor has brought me."

His grandson, Rabbi Yisrael, continues: "As he had such a fierce love for holy books, when young Talmidei Chachamim, who wrote books, asked my grandfather for a letter of recommendation or a blessing, I would sometimes stop them, knowing that when a new book came into his hands, he would not leave it until he had studied it from beginning to end, at the expense of food, sleep and receiving the public. Thus, with no choice, we sometimes refused these demands."

At the beginning of his life, for many years, Rabbi Yitzchak lived in very cramped conditions. His grandson remembers that when he left the old city, he lived in Betsalel Ashkenazi Street in the Beit Israel neighborhood, in a simple and poorly furnished apartment. When he recited Kiddush on Friday night, Chassidim, Ashkenazim, and Sephardim came to listen to his Kiddush, and drink from it. Rabbeinu recited the Bracha on two loaves of bread which he distributed. Everyone received the Rav's remnants and many saw great deliverance.

Rabbeinu also recited the Bracha on a large Challa and ate a piece from it and then distributed the rest to childless couples. A circumciser, Rav Moshe Cohen shlita, a close friend of my grandfather, testified that, in the merit of this Segula, a large number of couples were blessed with children, and Rabbeinu acted as the Sandak (godfather).

As a segula for couples who had girls and wanted boys, my grandfather suggested that the husband and wife recite the verse "Torah Tsiva Lanu Moshe Morasha Kehilat Ya'acov", every day, 26 times, and with the help of G-d, they would merit a deliverance.

There is not enough space to recount Rav Yitzchak Kaduri's many wonders, and every day we feel his great loss. Indeed, we no longer have Mekubalim who can perform miracles, and who specialize in the writing of amulets, and who are experts in the hidden Torah. Moreover, our generation had the merit of living under his protection. His life spanned more than 110 years, during which he did not lose his vigor and his eyes did not weaken in the divine service and his loyalty to Torah study did not falter. He lived a colorful life, and he had close relationships with Torah giants and prominent figures from Jerusalem.