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23 Shevat · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Israel Refael Alfiya
Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Israel Refael ben Yitzchak Alfiya (1862-1915) - "Riach le-Yitzchak" - a kabbalist and expert in revealed Torah, also known as "Rich".
Yahrzeit - 23 Shevat
Resting place - Har HaZeitim, Jerusalem
He was born in Aleppo, Syria, to Rabbi Yitzchak and Sara, who was a direct descendant of King David. His father was born in Israel in 1677 - he was a pious chassid.
He was so careful about the kashrut of meat that he did the slaughtering himself and personally appointed the local butchers, and Rabbi Mordechai Levton called him "the true butcher".
Rabbi Yaakov Chaim was so well versed in both the revealed and the hidden Torah, and conveyed his knowledge with such love, that crowds would gather at his lectures to hear the many pearls of wisdom from his mouth.
Later he immigrated to Israel together with his father and sons: Rabbi Yitzchak (Baal HaKuntres Yechieli), Rabbi Yeshaya Shaul, and Rabbi Mordechai Moshe, and settled in Jerusalem, where he studied at the kabbalistic yeshiva "Beit El".
He lived his entire life in great modesty and humility. This is well expressed in the will he wrote, in which he instructed his sons that after his death they should not say a single word in his praise, but should only recount the sufferings he endured in his lifetime, and that would be enough to arouse G-d's mercy toward him. They were not to hold large feasts in his memory, but rather to seat scholars who would study Mishnah for the elevation of his soul, paying them from the money he left behind.
He also instructed his sons not to reveal any of his good deeds, because "there is no goodness except that which is hidden from the eye".
On his gravestone it is written:
"...G-d chose Yaakov, called him away quickly, he had many years of life and all of them were devoted to Torah, he taught Torah in Israel and the faith of his father, the Alfiya family, a family of glory, and his son Yitzchak cried out a great and bitter cry, my father, to whom Sara bore crown upon crown, a rabbi distinguished by fear of Heaven and purity...".
He was an expert in the hidden Torah, a mekubal, who left behind a whole generation of kabbalists.
One of his students was the mekubal Shalom Hadaya, who for many years headed the kabbalistic yeshiva "Beit El".
Already at an advanced age, Rabbi Alfiya immigrated from Syria to Israel and settled in Jerusalem.
His major work is "Riach le-Yitzchak".
Taanit Dibur
Few people know that it was actually his father - the mekubal Rabbi Yitzchak Alfiya - who in the previous century introduced the practice, so popular among the Jewish people, of "Taanit Dibur" (a "fast of speech") - abstaining from empty and mundane talk - a very powerful spiritual tool for purification and atonement. He is the author of the well-known and frequently studied book שיח יצחק "Siach Yitzchak" ("The Conversation of Yitzchak").
More details here:
Ta'anit Dibbur and Tikkun Lashon Hara
A Segula with "Patach Eliyahu"
Before his death, Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Israel Refael Alfiya promised that whoever, on his Hillula, the 23rd of Shevat, recites "Patach Eliyahu" and lights a candle for the elevation of his soul, and asks for any one request, he will personally pray for that person and intercede for him above.
- Light a candle le-Kavod HaTzadik, set aside Tzedakah, saying: "Behold, I am reciting "Patach Eliyahu" le-Kavod Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Israel Refael ben Yitzchak ve-Sara Alfiya";
- Recite the prayer "Patach Eliyahu";
- Then make one request, that the tzadik intercede for you before the Almighty - (state your name and your mother's name), and, Bezrat Hashem, the answer to your prayer will come.
The full transliteration and translation text is here:
Patach Eliyahu — Transliteration and Russian Translation (exclusively on our site)
You can listen to "Patach Eliyahu" in Aramaic here:
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/dailyzohar/patach-eliyahu-1[/embed]
May the merit of the tzadik protect our people!
(https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/287-Rabbi-Yaakov-Chaim-Israel-Refael-Alfiya)
Taanit Dibur
Few people know that it was actually his father - the mekubal Rabbi Yitzchak Alfiya - who in the previous century introduced the practice, so popular among the Jewish people, of "Taanit Dibur" (a "fast of speech") - abstaining from empty and mundane talk - a very powerful spiritual tool for purification and atonement. He is the author of the well-known and frequently studied book שיח יצחק "Siach Yitzchak" ("The Conversation of Yitzchak").
More details here:
Ta'anit Dibbur and Tikkun Lashon Hara
A Segula with "Patach Eliyahu"
Before his death, Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Israel Refael Alfiya promised that whoever, on his Hillula, the 23rd of Shevat, recites "Patach Eliyahu" and lights a candle for the elevation of his soul, and asks for any one request, he will personally pray for that person and intercede for him above.
- Light a candle le-Kavod HaTzadik, set aside Tzedakah, saying: "Behold, I am reciting "Patach Eliyahu" le-Kavod Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Israel Refael ben Yitzchak ve-Sara Alfiya";
- Recite the prayer "Patach Eliyahu";
- Then make one request, that the tzadik intercede for you before the Almighty - (state your name and your mother's name), and, Bezrat Hashem, the answer to your prayer will come.
The full transliteration and translation text is here:
Patach Eliyahu — Transliteration and Russian Translation (exclusively on our site)
You can listen to "Patach Eliyahu" in Aramaic here:
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/dailyzohar/patach-eliyahu-1[/embed]
May the merit of the tzadik protect our people!
(https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/287-Rabbi-Yaakov-Chaim-Israel-Refael-Alfiya)Articles about this tzadik 1
Source: https://silatehilim.com/en/events/23-швата-йорцайт-рабби-яакова-хаима-ис/
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