12 Av · Yahrzeit
"Halban" - A Hidden Tzadik
Rabbi Chaim Avishalom ben Ezra Cohen-Perahia - "Halban" (The Milkman)
Yahrzeit - 12 Av;
Place of burial - Jerusalem, Sanhedria;
One of the 36 hidden tzadikim (Lamed-Vav).
To understand Halban's level, it is enough to cite the words of Baba Sali before his passing, when those closest to him, standing at his bedside, asked him: "Rabbeinu, who are you leaving us to?" - Baba Sali answered: "In the center of the country there is a milkman." At first no one understood what he meant, and they began searching, trying to figure out what the tzadik meant. Later they discovered a hidden kabbalist tzadik in Tel Aviv.
In the 1960s, a circle of kabbalist craftsmen was organized in Israel, who studied the hidden Torah together. They were known by names based on their profession:
"The Shoemaker" - Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Rabikov,
"The Painter" - Rabbi Yehuda Leon Patilon,
"The Janitor" - Rabbi Yosef Voltuch,
"The Tiler" - Rabbi Avraham Fish,
and "The Milkman" – Halban - Rabbi Chaim Avishalom Cohen Perahia.
Halban
At first glance at Rabbi Chaim ben Ezra HaCohen Prachya one would never think that he was a kabbalist. Without a beard, long peyot, wearing a simple cap, no one would have guessed that Halban [the milkman] had been deeply immersed in Kabbalah since the age of 9.
"I studied under different generations. My teachers were mekubalim who opened the door to this world for me. At age 9, I began reading my father's - Rav Ezra HaCohen Prachya's - kabbalah books that were in our house. Without asking my parents, I would go up to the roof and study on my own. At a young age I went to the mikveh and kept myself pure.
I came to the kabbalists Rav Shmuel Ervatz and Rav Hillel Simchon and asked them to teach me. I told them: "It is written in the seforim that one who immerses in a mikveh is permitted to study Kabbalah."
So they taught me.
"When I was 13, the Rebbe of Lelov asked me to come and complete a minyan for him.
I was his kohen, and we found a common language. I saw amazing things in him, things that, if I told about them, no one would understand."
At a young age, Halban discovered that he possessed special abilities.
"When I was 10, I went outside with my brother, and a man passed by. I sensed that he was a thief. I told my brother, let's see where he's going to steal from. He reached into a kiosk and took a bag of money. I wanted to shout 'thief,' but my brother covered my mouth with his hand, because he was afraid the thief would hit us. When the thief left, we shouted to the kiosk owner: "Eizik! Eizik! He stole your money!"
He ran after the thief and got his money back.
Even at that age, I could feel what was happening inside people."
Halban was the last of the five kabbalist craftsmen to leave this world.
Halban recalls: "When Yehuda Patilon arrived from abroad, I began studying with him. I invited the others to join us. We met on Rokeach Street in Tel Aviv and studied together. Our group also included Rav Yehuda Segal, Rav Meir Sabato, Rav Yehoshua Sharbani, and Rav Avraham Cohen.
I told Rav Yosef Voltuch: "You are one of the 36 tzadikim," and he replied: "What are you talking about, that's nonsense."
I told him: "Rebbe, you can tell that story to anyone else, but you can't fool me."
"I know who the 36 tzadikim of our generation are, but I don't have permission to reveal it. I will only say that one of them is an old Jew who flees from people. Rav Aharon HaCohen ben Batya. He is a Yerushalmi, and he doesn't want anyone to know who he is, so he is always on the move."
"I did not want to reveal myself. But I saw that the Jewish people were under great pressure during the Gulf War. I saw that if we did not begin to pray, the situation would not change.
All the sages of that generation had already passed away, such as Chacham Menachem Menashe, who knew how to perform Tikkunim. Then I began telling people - let's gather together, and Heaven arranged it so that Rav David Batzri (who knew my father) founded Rav Sharabi's kabbalistic yeshiva "Nahar Shalom."
When I was between 12 and 21, I went with Rav Avraham HaCohen to all the synagogues to collect donations so we could give the students money for food. We saw miracles. We would walk down the market street to Nachlat Yitzchak and experience "kfitzat haderech" (the shortening of the way).
Another amazing thing was that whenever we entered a synagogue, we always arrived exactly when they were finishing Shacharit, before the Torah scroll was taken out.
This happened from one synagogue to the next - it was all beyond nature.
"Rav Yehoshua Sharabani was visited by Eliyahu HaNavi. Once he told me that he studies every Shabbat with the Ben Ish Chai. When my brother died of typhus, we were not accepted into any school. The only school that accepted us was the Alliance school.
My father saw that he had no choice and sent us there, saying that he was relying on our home education. They insisted that we remove our hats during class, but I refused, despite their shouting and insults. After school I would go to study with Rav Patilon and other friends."
"Before the war, I gathered 2000 people with lulavim at the grave of Rav Yochanan HaSandlar.
We prayed that Saddam Hussein would leave this world, that the missiles would cause no harm, and that the Al-mighty would inspire Bush to fight these evil people, while we would simply be allowed to sit back and watch."
"I have already passed on to the Israeli army precise intelligence information that led to successful special operations. I called a senior Defense Ministry official and gave him the details. When he mentioned this to his superiors, they were in shock, since they were verifying that very information, and here I was confirming the facts and providing many details they did not have."
"As for preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear bombs, I told the authorities that they should tell the prime minister not to wait for Obama or anyone else.
We must continue to pray and not give up on our prayers. The Al-mighty is waiting for the prayers of the Jewish people."
Halban is a direct descendant of the great Rabbi Eliyahu Avraham HaCohen of Izmir (Smyrna) - the "Midrash Talpiot."
For 16 generations, the "Ruach HaKodesh" never left their family of kohanim.
Miriam's Well
Once, Halban's students asked where exactly Miriam's Well was located in the Kinneret, and whether it was actually possible to taste water from this source. Halban took them to Tiberias, and on the shore of Lake Kinneret he took out a handkerchief and began waving it above his head. Immediately circles appeared on the water, and the students saw in the distance a whirlpool that began moving toward the shore. When it reached the shore, Halban told the students that now they could draw water from Miriam's spring. The students' joy knew no bounds, and they all rushed to the source. At that moment, a passerby who happened to be walking by also hurried over out of curiosity, following the students. Halban noticed him and immediately commanded the source to return to its place. Miriam's spring possesses special holiness and can only harm someone who is unprepared.
Shmirat Einayim
Halban was especially meticulous in fulfilling the mitzvah of "shmirat einayim" (guarding one's eyes). Those close to Rabbi Chaim Ezra recount that if his gaze happened to fall upon a woman by accident, he would immediately perform a "Tikkun Einayim" - dissolving salt in a glass of water and wiping his eyes with it.
No Proceedings
"Well-wishers" launched a campaign of persecution against Halban.
First, they circulated an audio recording of a lesson, having forged his voice. The lesson clearly contradicted Halban's ideas. Some rabbis believed the forgery. While the students were having the recording examined, a new case was fabricated - allegedly that the Rav had assaulted a minor girl.
When the students, holding proof that the recording was fake, asked Halban's permission to start fighting back, he humbly said: "No need, no proceedings, I accept all the isurim sent from Heaven for the sake of my people."
May the merit of the tzadik Halban protect our entire people!
(From the Seudah in honor of Tu B'Av in Meron with the "Yodei Bina" Yeshiva, Rosh Yeshiva Gaon Rav Yaniv Assuri, for "Sila Tehilim")
Pilgrimage site:
Grave: Chalban (Lamed-Vav Tzadikim)