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Сила Теилим

28 Shevat · Yahrzeit

Rabbi Nissim Peretz - Kabbalist of Bnei Brak

Rabbi Nissim ben Maimon Peretz - Kabbalist of Bnei Brak (1935-2012) Yahrzeit - 28 Shevat Resting place - Har HaZeitim, Jerusalem Rabbi Nissim Peretz, a Kabbalist, founded the Beit El community in Bnei Brak, including a Beit Midrash and synagogue, a small Yeshiva called "Mesilat Yesharim" (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto), a Talmud Torah named "Torat Yeshaya," a kollel for avreichim for intensive study of halacha, and a midnight kollel, in which select avreichim studied the hidden Torah from midnight until sunrise. The Kabbalist Rav Nissim Peretz was born on the 6th of Tishrei, 5707, in the city of Dades in Morocco, to Rabbi Maimon Peretz and his mother Solika. When he was five years old, his parents made aliyah to Israel, living in the transit camp of Yeruham in southern Israel. Once, while they lived in the camp, little Nissim was kidnapped along with other children by Arabs living in the area. Thanks to swift action, the group was freed by the army. The day after he returned from captivity, his father left the camp and never returned. From Yeruham, the family moved to Gan Yavne, where the country was resettling new immigrants from Yemen. Little Nissim was educated by a Yemenite "Mori" and was the only Moroccan in his class. Much later, other Moroccan families moved into the area, and a Talmud Torah was opened for those who had come from Morocco. Until the age of 11, he studied at the local school, and then transferred to the Yeshiva "Shaarei Shalom" in Masmiyah. The yeshiva, run by Agudat Yisrael, was considered a leading yeshiva for children from all over the world. It was headed by HaRav Tzvi Hostetter and HaRav Shlomo Levi. Rabbi Nissim was close to them and praised them after their passing. After this period, he moved on to study at the Yeshiva "Nachalat Reuven" - Lomza, headed by HaGaon Rabbi Reuven Katz - the Rabbi of Petach Tikva - and HaRav Yosef Bruchman. The heads of the yeshiva noticed that the young student was lagging behind the other students, and decided to pair him with an avreich who could help him with his studies. Within just a few months, young Nissim closed the gap and came to be regarded as one of the yeshiva's geniuses. A year after he entered the yeshiva, its heads entrusted him with a group of boys to help advance in their studies. From there he moved to the Yeshiva high school "Otzar HaTalmud," headed by HaRav Ushpizai, where he spent a year studying around the clock. A year later, having received his high school diploma, he honored his parents' wishes. The Yeshiva Otzar HaTalmud closed about a year later, but was soon reopened in the same building by Rav Yaakov Arieli and Rav Michael Ehrlich - the father of the Admor of Koidanov. Rabbi Peretz also served as a maggid shiur at the yeshiva, but his soul longed to continue learning and engaging in Torah study. On the advice of the Gaon the Steipler, he left the yeshiva and his position there in order to continue his own studies at the Hebron Yeshiva in Jerusalem. After this, he married the daughter of the chazzan HaRav Rafael Abuhav. Many of the great rabbis of Israel attended his engagement, praising the groom highly and predicting a great future for him. After his marriage, he took up the study of Kabbalah under the guidance of Rabbi Mordechai Sharabi. He would say that Kabbalah is not meant for practical manipulations, salvation, or any mystical purposes. Kabbalah was intended so that we could understand how the world is structured and how it works, so that we could delve deeply into the essence of things, as well as into the deep and hidden aspects of the Torah. In the final period of his life, he suffered from a severe illness - but he accepted it all with love. May the merits of the Tzadik Nissim Peretz protect us all, Amen. (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/258-Rabbi-Nissim-Peretz)