Skip to content
This English version of the site was translated with AI assistance. We apologise for any errors and are working to improve it.
Сила Теилим

25 Tammuz · Yahrzeit

Rabbi Aaron Berachiah of Modena - "Ma'avor Yabok"

Rabbi Aaron Berachiah ben Moshe ben Nechemiah of Modena (1549–1639) was an Italian kabbalist. He is the author of "Ma'avor Yabok", the primary text of Jewish burial customs. Yahrzeit - 25 Tammuz Resting place - Modena Rabbi Aaron Berachiah was a student of Rabbi Hillel of Modena (nicknamed Chasid ve-Kadosh, meaning "the Pious and Holy") and of the Italian kabbalist Rabbi Menachem Azariah of Fano. He was the nephew of Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh de Modena and a student of Rabbi Israel Sarug, who was a student of the Arizal. His brother-in-law was Rabbi Yosef Yedidyah Karmi, author of "Kanaf Renanim." His first work was the siddur "Ashmoret HaBoker" (Morning Watches) (1624) - a liturgy composed for the Me'orerei HaShachar (awakeners of the dawn), based on Lurianic Kabbalah. His most famous work, "Ma'avor Yabok" (1626), was written at the request of the Chevra Kadisha (burial society) of Mantua. In its first chapter, "Siftei Tzedek," he compiled the liturgy accompanying the care of the dead, prayers for the sick, along with rules and instructions for their care. He explains the importance of caring for the sick and the dying, and offers a detailed confessional liturgy - Vidui - not only for the end of life, but for the well-being of the soul. His favorite saying, from the book of Rabbi Isaac Arama, "Akeidat Yitzchak" (ch. XXV): "The intellect must yield some of its rights to divine revelations, which surpass it." In 1636, he was arrested and imprisoned for possessing forbidden books, namely those that had been censored due to passages allegedly critical of Christians. In his defense, he stated: "I have nothing more to say, except that since the Holy Inquisition tolerates us within its borders, it therefore also permits us to possess books concerning our ceremonies, because we cannot live in these countries unless we have books that teach us the principles of our faith, and although Your Honor has informed us that Clement VIII proclaimed a bull prohibiting a number of books from Jews, as far as I know, this bull was never enforced, and the books were not confiscated from the Jews. Moreover, even [Christian] preachers sometimes cite the Shulchan Aruch, the Rif, or similar books to persuade Jews [to convert], and they could not do so if we were forbidden to read or possess these books." "Me'il Tzedakah" ("Mantle of Righteousness") on worship and study, published in Mantua in 1767 together with Bigdei Kodesh ("Garments of Holiness") on the same subject. "Chibur BeKabbalah," a work on Kabbalah consisting of four volumes: "Shemen Mishchat Kodesh" ("Oil of Holy Anointing") on the principles of Kabbalah according to Rabbi Moshe Cordovero and Rabbi Yitzchak Luria; "Shemen Zayit Zach" ("Pure Olive Oil"), public discourses on the same subject; "Shetil Poreach" (A Flourishing Plant) on the mystical meaning of prayers and ceremonies; "Imrei Shefer" (Words of Beauty) and others; all of this work was seen in manuscript by the Chida in Modena, and portions of it can be found in some libraries. "Magen Aharon" (Shield of Aaron), containing a collection of Luria's writings. It is said that this prolific writer, like Yosef Karo, was in constant communication with a spirit known as a Maggid. May the merit of the tzadik Rabbi Aaron Berachiah ben Moshe ben Nechemiah of Modena protect us all. Amen   May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Berechiah_of_Modena)