15 Adar · Yahrzeit
Yahrzeit/Hilula of Rabbi Yitzchak Abulafia - Tiberias
Chacham Rabbi Yitzchak ben Moshe Abulafia, was born in 1830 in Damascus, Syria.
Yahrzeit - 15 Adar
Resting place - Tiberias
As a child he studied Torah with his father, and as a young man he moved to the Land of Israel to study with his grandfather, Rishon LeTzion Chacham Nissim Abulafia, who at that time served as rabbi of the city of Tiberias. When Chacham Yitzchak Abulafia became one of the sages of Tiberias, the leaders of the communities of Tzfat and Tiberias asked him to travel abroad as a rabbinic emissary to the Jewish communities of North Africa - the Maghreb countries.
His first trip took place in 1857. During his travels he stayed in Tunisia, Tripoli and Algeria. He was received with great honor.
In 1863, Chacham Yitzchak Abulafia returned to Tiberias, where he resumed teaching Torah as one of the city's sages.
In 1873, when the sages of Damascus asked him to become the rabbi of their city, Chacham Yitzchak Abulafia returned to the city of his birth to lead the community. He did so with great courage, at times overturning the rulings of other sages. He boldly stood up to the wealthy and influential members of society, but was lenient and flexible with the poor and simple people. Despite the objections of the city's butchers, Chacham Yitzchak Abulafia, out of concern for the poor, lowered the local taxes on meat.
In 1909, sensing that his end was near, Chacham Yitzchak Abulafia decided to return to the Land of Israel, where he wished to be buried.
He returned to Tiberias, where on 15 Adar 5670 (1910) - Shushan Purim - he passed away and was buried.
His book "Penei Yitzchak" consists of six volumes and contains hundreds of responsa written over several decades. Over the years the book was printed in several different cities - Aleppo, Livorno, Izmir, as well as in Jerusalem, where its final section - a collection of his sermons - was also printed.
May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
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