15 Cheshvan · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Yehuda Leon Patilon - "The Holy Painter" - A Hidden Tzadik
Rabbi Yehuda Leon Patilon (1905-1974) - "The Holy Painter" - a Hidden Tzadik from the circle of craftsmen.
Yahrzeit - 15 Cheshvan;
Resting place - Jerusalem, Beit HaChaim, Sanhedria.
He was one of the 36 hidden tzadikim (Lamed-Vav) from the circle of kabbalist craftsmen (1960) in Israel, who studied hidden Torah together. They bore names according to their trade:
"The Shoemaker" - Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Rabikov,
https://silatehilim.com/events/22-тишрея-йорцайт-илула-рабби-моше-яаков/
"The Janitor" - Rabbi Yosef Voltuch,
https://silatehilim.com/events/20-ияра-йорцайт-рабби-йосеф-волтух-дво/
"The Tiler" - Rabbi Avraham Fish,
https://silatehilim.com/events/13-элула-йорцайт-рабби-йехиэль-авраам-фи/
"The Milkman" - the Chalban - Rabbi Chaim Avishalom Cohen Perachya.
https://silatehilim.com/events/12-ава-йорцайт-илула-хальбан/
and "The Painter" - Rabbi Yehuda Leon Patilon.
Rabbi Yehuda Leon Patilon was born in Salonika, Greece (1905-1974).
He studied with his grandfather, who was one of the greatest kabbalists in Salonika, and turned to Ha-Shem, blessed be He, on every matter, like a son turning to his father.
He made aliyah to Eretz Yisrael and lived in the Shabazi neighborhood of Tel Aviv-Yafo. He earned his living as a painter, but never painted the female body.
Because of his difficult financial situation he did not marry until nearly age 40, when, after receiving the blessing of the kabbalist Rabbi Hillel Simchon, he married a young woman named Victoria from the Nisan family.
Weary of all worldly pleasures, content with little, he served G-d joyfully and was one of the hidden tzadikim.
He would pray before the stars came out, recite the Shema and lie down to sleep, then wake at midnight to recite Tikkun Chatzot with tears, study Mishnayot and the Zohar, immerse in the mikveh, and pray Shacharit.
He prayed simply, constantly shedding tears, ate very little, worked a few hours a day to support his household, while his wife helped him sell paintings, but they earned only a meager living.
He was once awarded a large cash prize for his paintings, but he refused to travel to Paris to receive it.
He always kept the Name of Ha-Shem before his eyes, was very careful about guarding his eyes - "Shmirat Einayim" - and held that every Jew must keep three things: the covenant (Brit), modesty, and guarding the tongue. Through diligent Torah study, he knew the entire book of Tehillim, Mishnayot, and the Zohar by heart.
He was known as a "Baal Mofet" (miracle-worker) and as one to whom angels revealed the future.
Souls that had left this world would come to him so that he could give them "Tikkunim" (corrections/rectifications); he understood the language of animals, through which souls asked him for healing.
He loved every Jew, spoke with each person who came to receive his blessing and advice, and gave the money he received from visitors to charity.
Once, sitting at home, he saw an angel sitting beside the grave of Benayahu ben Yehoyada, wearing a hat, khaki-colored pants, and holding a book of kavanot (intentions) in hand; he then asked two of his students to take him to that place so he could see it up close.
Twice a year he organized a trip with his companions to the hillula of Rashbi in Meron, and from the moment of arrival in Meron he would give charity to everyone.
After suffering a stroke, part of his body was paralyzed, but he refused to go to a hospital so that no nurse would touch him, and he assured his wife, who devotedly cared for him, that she would be with him in Heaven.
When he was hospitalized, he said that three weeks after Sukkot he would depart this world, and exactly three weeks from the first day of Sukkot in the year 5705, he returned his soul to the Creator.
His paintings were realistic - the figures often found in his landscapes carry a somewhat mysterious character (for example, when a person carrying baskets appears in his paintings, it usually alludes to his close friend, the hidden tzadik - "The Janitor" - Rabbi Yosef Voltuch, who is often depicted with baskets, traveling to holy sites in the Galilee).
The magazine "Mishpacha" has often published amazing stories about his knowledge of Kabbalah and his encounters with Eliyahu HaNavi, told by people who received salvation through the "Holy Painter."
May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
Paintings
[A man carrying baskets, alluding to his close friend, the hidden tzadik - "The Janitor" - Rabbi Yosef Voltuch, who is often depicted with baskets, traveling to holy sites in the Galilee]
Pilgrimage site:
Grave: Yehuda Leon Patilon (Lamed-Vav Tzadikim)