19 Sivan · Yahrzeit
Yahrzeit/Hillula of Rabbi Yehuda ben Yaakov Ben Attar - Fez
19 Sivan Yahrzeit/Hillula of Rabbi Yehuda ben Yaakov Ben Attar - Fez
He studied under Rabbi Vidal Tzarfati and Rabbi Menachem Serero.
Yahrzeit – 19 Sivan
Burial place – Fez, Morocco – Cimetière Israelite de Fes
Among his students were Rabbi Eliyahu HaTzarfati and Rabbi Shem Tov ben Amuzeg.
His family name "Attar" means "perfumes" in Arabic, since his ancestors were in the perfume trade.
He was the grandfather of Or HaChaim HaKadosh.
At a young age he was appointed a judge in the city of Fez. Known as a genius with mastery of all areas of Torah, he wrote works on halachic matters.
During the persecutions of 1701, when he came to the city of Meknes, Rabbi Moshe Toledano and his brother Rabbi Chabib Toledano treated him with great respect.
He earned his living as a jeweler, making necklaces and rings of gold and silver by day. At night he studied Torah and received revelations from Eliyahu HaNavi, and during the festivals the entire community would come to his home to kiss his hands and receive his blessing.
His descendant, Rabbeinu Chida, wrote of him that he was a master of miracles, and that miracles were performed in his name both during his lifetime and after his passing… and that he had heard from the sages of the West that he was a holy man of G-d.
By order of the governor of Morocco he was thrown into prison, and when the Jewish community was unable to raise the money needed for his ransom, the governor ordered him thrown into a pit of hungry lions. And how astonished the Muslims were when, the next day, they witnessed the following sight: instead of tearing apart the Jew who had been thrown to them, the lions sat obediently around Rabbi Yehuda, listening to words of Torah from the mouth of the Tzadik.
After he spent the day with the lions and was saved, Jews and gentiles alike began to revere him, calling him "Rabbi Alkabir" [our great rabbi], and would swear oaths in his name, and those who swore falsely could die.
After heavy taxes were imposed and persecution of the Jews began in the city of Fez, he moved to the city of Meknes (Morocco).
He left this world in 5493 (1733) at the age of 77.
After his passing he was buried in the Beit HaChaim in the Mellah, but when the Jews left that place and resettled in the Kasbah di Zirara, they took his bones with them and buried him in Alguis. When the Jews returned to the Mellah, they brought his bones back as well. When the King of Morocco took over the cemetery grounds located near his palace and gave the Jews a new burial site, they once again transferred his bones to his current resting place – in Fez.
The False Oath
Once, Rabbi Yehuda Ibn Attar, head of the rabbinical court in the city of Fez, who lived 300 years ago, arrived in Tunis.
There lived there a Jew who used to borrow money from Arabs, invest it in business, and then split the profits with his creditors.
One day the Jew borrowed a rather large sum from an Arab, hid the money among barrels in his cellar, and then denied the very fact of the loan. The Arab took him to court, but the Jew denied in court as well that he had received the money.
The judge demanded that the Jew confirm his testimony with an oath. The Arab insisted that the Jew swear in the name of Rabbi Yehuda Ibn Attar.
The Jew allowed himself to deceive the Arab, confirming his testimony with a false oath.
The Arab went home distraught, while the Jew decided to celebrate his easy gain by gathering acquaintances and friends for a feast. To fetch wine, he went down to the cellar with a candle, poured the wine into jugs, and went back upstairs, forgetting the lit candle in the cellar. The flame of the candle first set fire to a wooden shelf, then to sulfur that was stored in the cellar. As a result, the house together with all its contents burned down. The Arab saw the hand of the Creator in this.
He, of course, lost his money, but the Jew did not escape punishment for the false oath either!
The Arab traveled to Fez to tell Rabbi Yehuda about the fate of the Jew who had falsely sworn in his name, and as a sign of respect he offered the rav a gift.
Rabbi Yehuda did not want to accept a gift that had come about through another Jew's misfortune, and so he distributed the money to the poor.
If a person who swears in the name of a tzadik is punished so severely, how much greater is the punishment awaiting one who swears falsely in the name of the Creator!
A Helping Hand
In the court of the city of Fez in Morocco, Rabbi Yehuda Ben Attar was returning home for lunch after a difficult court session. Rabbi Ben Attar was absorbed in thought about the case under consideration, with the testimonies given in court and the rulings on similar cases passing before his eyes, when suddenly a charcoal merchant approached him and asked for his help and kindness.
"Could you watch my shop while I go home to eat?"
Rabbi Yehuda Ben Attar agreed without hesitation: "Gladly, my son, go and eat your bread with joy," and he sat down at the door of the shop.
A few minutes later, Rabbi Yaakov Ibn Tzur (Yavetz) – a member of Rabbi Ben Attar's court – was walking down the street and was astonished to see the great judge sitting at the door of a charcoal shop.
"Your honor, what happened?" he asked, to which Rabbi Ben Attar replied: "The shop owner asked me to watch his shop while he went to get a bite to eat."
Rabbi Ibn Tzur was astonished: "But what about the honor of the Torah?! What about the honor of the head of the court sitting at a charcoal shop?!"
Rabbi Ben Attar calmly answered him: "Thanks to the charcoal seller, I was able to work out a certain question in the Gemara."
Seeing Rabbi Ibn Tzur's puzzled look, Rabbi Yehuda explained:
"According to the Gemara, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was very humble: 'whatever anyone tells me to do, I will do.'
Isn't this considered the height of humility and devotion? Isn't it obvious that if a person needed help, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would come to his aid?
But now I understand the words of the Gemara.
When a poor man asked Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who was very wealthy, for charity, of course he gave it to him.
When Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was asked a halachic question, of course he answered it. It stands to reason that even if he were asked to do something that touched on his dignity, he would still fulfill the request.
If the rabbi of all Israel, of such stature, behaved in this way, how could I possibly behave any differently?"
May the merit of the Tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(https://www.mytzadik.com/tzadik.aspx?id=267)