Rabbi Chaim Avishalom ben Ezra Cohen-Perachia - "Chalban"
Burial place - Jerusalem, Sanhedria;
Yahrzeit - 12 Av;
One of the 36 hidden tzadikim (Lamed-Vav).
In the 1960s, a circle of kabbalist-craftsmen was formed in Israel who studied the hidden Torah together. They were known by names taken from their trades:
The "Shoemaker" - Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Rabikov,
The "Painter" - Rabbi Yehuda Leon Ptilon,
The "Janitor" - Rabbi Yosef Voltuch,
The "Tiler" - Rabbi Avraham Fish,
The "Milkman" - Chalban - Rabbi Chaim Avishalom Cohen Perachia.
Chalban
At first glance, one would not say that Rabbi Chaim ben Ezra HaCohen Perachia was a kabbalist. Without a beard, long peyot, wearing a simple cap, no one would have guessed that Chalban [the milkman] had been deeply devoted to Kabbalah since the age of 9. "I studied under different generations. My teachers were mekubalim who opened the door to this world for me. At age 9 I began reading my father Rav Ezra HaCohen Perachia's kabbalah books, which were in our home. Without asking my parents, I would go up to the roof and study on my own. At a young age I went to the mikveh and kept myself pure.
I came to the kabbalists Rav Shmuel Ervatz and Rav Hillel Simchon and asked them to teach me. I told them: 'It is written in the sefarim that one who immerses in the mikveh is permitted to study Kabbalah.'
So they taught me.
"When I was 13, the Lelover Rebbe asked me to come and complete his minyan.
I was his Cohen, and we found a common language. I saw amazing things in him - things that, if I told them, no one would understand."
At a young age, Chalban discovered he possessed special abilities. "When I was 10, I went out into the street with my brother, and a man passed by. I sensed that he was a thief. I told my brother, let's see where he's going to steal. He reached out toward a kiosk and took a bag of money. I wanted to shout 'thief,' but my brother covered my mouth with his hand, afraid the thief would hit us.
When the thief left, we shouted to the kiosk owner: 'Eizik! Eizik! They stole your money!'
He ran after the thief and got his money back.
Even at that age, I could sense what was happening inside people."
Chalban was the last of the group of five kabbalist-craftsmen to leave this world:
The "Shoemaker" - Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Rabikov,
The "Painter" - Rabbi Yehuda Leon Ptilon,
The "Janitor" - Rabbi Yosef Voltuch,
The "Tiler" - Rabbi Avraham Fish,
"When Yehuda Ptilon arrived from abroad, I began studying with him. I invited the others to join us. We met on Rokach Street in Tel Aviv and studied together. Our group also included Rav Yehuda Segal, Rav Meir Sabato, Rav Yoshua Sharbani, and Rav Avraham Cohen. I told Rav Yosef Voltuch: 'You are one of the 36 tzadikim,' and he replied: 'What are you talking about, that's nonsense.'
I told him: 'Rebbe, you can tell that story to anyone else, but you won't fool me.'
'I know who the 36 tzadikim of our generation are, but I do not have permission to reveal it. I will only say that one of them is an old Jew who runs from people - Rav Aharon HaCohen ben Batya. He is a Yerushalmi, and he doesn't want anyone to know who he is, so he is always on the move.'
When I was between 12 and 21 years old, I went with Rav Avraham HaCohen to all the synagogues to collect donations, so that we could give the students money for food. We saw miracles. We would walk along the market street to Nachlat Yitzchak and feel kefitzat haderech (the shortening of the way).
Another amazing thing was that whenever we entered a synagogue, we always arrived just as they were finishing Shacharit, right before they took out the Torah scroll.
This happened synagogue after synagogue - it was all beyond nature.
"Rav Yoshua Sharabani was visited by Eliyahu HaNavi. Once he told me that he studies every Shabbat with the Ben Ish Chai. When my brother died of typhus, we were not accepted into any school. The only school that accepted us was the Alliance school.
My father saw he had no choice and sent us there, saying he was relying on our home education. They insisted we remove our hats during class, but I refused, despite their shouting and insults. After school I would go to study with Rav Ptilon and other friends.
"Before the Gulf War, I saw that the Jewish people were in great danger. I saw that if we did not begin to pray, the situation would not turn out well. All the sages of that generation had already passed away, such as Chacham Menachem Menashe, who knew how to perform tikkunim. So I began telling people - let's gather everyone together and pray for the salvation of Israel.
"Before the war, I gathered 2,000 people with lulavim at the grave of Rav Yochanan HaSandlar.
We prayed that Saddam Hussein would leave this world, that the missiles would cause no harm, and that the Al-mighty would inspire Bush to fight these evil people, while we would simply be allowed to sit back and watch.
"I have already given the Israeli army precise intelligence that led to successful special operations. I called a senior official at the Ministry of Defense and gave him the details. When he mentioned this to his superiors, they were in shock, since they had been verifying that very information themselves, and here I was confirming it and providing many details they did not have.
"As for preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear bombs, I told the authorities that they should tell the prime minister not to wait for Obama or anyone else.
We must keep praying and not give up our prayers. The Al-mighty is waiting for the prayers of the Jewish people."
In fact, very little has been written about Chalban, even after his passing - on the Shabbat at Meron, where we stayed on after Tu B'Av, I asked my Rav, Gaon Rav Yaniv Assuri, to tell us about Chalban, and he did so with tremendous warmth.
It turns out that Chalban is a direct descendant of the great Rabbi Eliyahu Avraham HaCohen of Izmir (Smyrna) - author of "Midrash Talpiyot" - whose resting place we visited in Izmir with a group touring the graves of tzadikim in Turkey.
For 16 generations, the "Ruach HaKodesh" never left their Cohen lineage.
Miriam's Well
Once, Chalban's students asked where exactly "Miriam's Well" was located in the Kinneret, and whether it was truly possible to taste water from that source. Chalban took them to Tiberias, and on the shore of Lake Kinneret he took out some kind of scarf and began to swirl it above his head. Ripples immediately spread across the water, and the students saw a whirlpool in the distance that began moving toward the shore. When it reached the shore, Chalban told the students that they could now draw water from Miriam's Well. The students' joy knew no bounds, and everyone rushed to the source. At that moment, a passerby who happened to be nearby, out of curiosity, also hurried after the students. Chalban noticed him and immediately ordered the source to return to its place. Miriam's Well possesses a special holiness and can only harm someone who is not prepared for it.
Shmirat Einayim
Chalban was especially meticulous in observing the mitzvah of shmirat einayim (guarding one's eyes). Those close to Rabbi Chaim Ezra relate that if his gaze happened to fall upon a woman by accident, he would immediately perform a Tikkun Einayim - stirring salt into a glass of water and wiping his eyes with it.
No Investigations
Against Chalban, certain "well-wishers" launched a campaign of harassment.
First, they circulated an audio recording of a lecture, having forged his voice. The lecture clearly contradicted Chalban's teachings. Some rabbis believed the forgery. While the students were having the recording examined, a new case was fabricated - an alleged case of the Rav raping a minor girl.
When the students, holding proof that the recording was a forgery, asked Chalban's permission to begin fighting back, he humbly said: "No, no investigations. I accept all the suffering sent from Heaven for the sake of my people."
May the merit of the tzadik Chalban protect our entire people!
