Grave

Yishmael Kohen HaGadol

Tanna

Yahrzeit (Hillula)

25 Sivan — Rabbi Yishmael Kohen HaGadol - "Asara Harugei Malchut"
1 Av — Aaron HaKohen HaGadol
10 Iyar — Eli Kohen HaGadol

Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha Kohen HaGadol Yahrzeit/Hillula - 25 Sivan Resting place - סאג'ור - near Carmiel, in the Druze village of Sajur. Rabbi Yishmael was one of the Tannaim (the great Sages of the Mishnah). He lived approximately 50 years after the Destruction of the Second Temple, in the era of Rabbi Akiva, and was one of the Asarah Harugei Malkhut (the Ten Martyrs).

The birth of Rabbi Yishmael Kohen HaGadol was foretold by the following events.

One day his mother went to the mikveh at the appointed time, as was her custom. But on her way home, she repeatedly encountered spiritually impure things and returned each time to immerse again. This happened eight times that day.

Witnessing this, Ha-Shem called upon the angel known as "Mem-Tet" (whose full name we do not pronounce) and asked him to descend in the likeness of her father and stand at the entrance of the mikveh.

When the mother of Rabbi Yishmael HaKohen emerged from the mikveh, she saw who appeared to be her father and approached him, not knowing it was an angel. Her father was Nechunya ben Akana — a great Sage, the author of "Ana BeKo'ach" and the Sefer HaBahir.

The angel, in the form of her father, held seven apples in his hands and offered them to her as she left the mikveh.

Believing it to be her father, she took the apples and ate all seven.

That very evening she conceived a son, whom she bore in the seventh month — he was Rabbi Yishmael Kohen HaGadol, a child with an angelic face.

Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha was the grandson of Rabbi Nechunya ben Akana, and the great Rabbi Yishmael Ba'al Baraitot was in turn the grandson of Rabbi Yishmael Kohen HaGadol.

The Ten Martyrs The Roman emperor Lupinus studied Torah and posed a question to ten of the greatest Sages of the generation: "What does your Torah prescribe as the punishment for a Jew who sells another Jew into slavery?" (referring to the brothers' sale of Yosef). "The supreme punishment," answered Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues. "But the brothers of Yosef were never punished for their crime!" exclaimed the Roman, and he began to lay his deadly trap. "Justice must be served, and there are no other leaders who can take their place — only you ten!" When Rabbi Nechunya ben Akana heard of this decree, he said to his disciple Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha: "Ascend to the Heavens and determine whether this is truly the verdict of the Heavenly Court." Rabbi Yishmael purified himself, whispered the hidden Name of the L-rd, and ascended to Heaven. He asked the angel Gavriel about the decree, and Gavriel replied: "Accept this upon yourselves, righteous ones, for I have heard from behind the Partition that this is to be your fate." Rabbi Yishmael was told that the ten Sages would be delivered to the wicked angel Samael as atonement for the sale of Yosef. Rabbi Yishmael reported this to his colleagues, and they accepted the decree. Before the execution, the emperor's daughter saw Rabbi Yishmael and demanded that the executioner wait while she went to her father to plead for his pardon. "What have you seen in this Jew?" asked the emperor. "He has the most beautiful face I have ever seen," replied the princess. Needless to say, Rabbi Yishmael could not contemplate saving his life for the sake of the emperor's daughter. The emperor then issued an order that the skin be flayed alive from Rabbi Yishmael's face and preserved. As they flayed him and reached the spot on his head where he placed his Tefillin, he cried out — and his soul ascended. Esav and Yaakov, and the Mask of Rabbi Yishmael In Rome there was a custom: every seventy years they would take a healthy man, seat him upon a lame man, and parade them both dressed in the garments of Adam. The healthy man wore a mask fashioned from the skin of Rabbi Yishmael and was adorned with precious jewels. The two were led through the city while announcing: "This is the story of our forefathers: the lame man is Yaakov and the healthy man is Esav. To see Esav riding upon Yaakov is a sign that Esav dominates Yaakov, and that the blessings Yaakov obtained through cunning have availed him nothing." (Rabbi Ashi notes that in saying this they actually proclaimed the opposite of what they intended.) People came from far and wide to witness this spectacle. (Tractate Avodah Zarah, p. 11, Rashi) Rabbi Yishmael — a Gilgul of Yosef HaTzadik According to the Arizal, zechuto yagen aleinu, Yosef himself bore some responsibility for the fact that his brothers sold him. (Sha'ar HaGilgulim, 34) By spreading his dream of dominion and speaking lashon hara about his brothers, he brought these troubles upon himself. Just as Yosef possessed the beauty of Adam, so too did Rabbi Yishmael. The death of Rabbi Yishmael was an atonement for the sins of Yosef himself. This was not the only reason they had to die such a death, but it was the primary one. The Son and Daughter of Rabbi Yishmael His son and daughter were taken captive and sold as servants to different Roman masters. Their masters once met, and each boasted of the beauty of his slave. They decided to arrange a marriage between them and divide their children between themselves. They left the two alone in one room. The young man sat in one corner, thinking: "I am a Kohen, son of Kohanim Gedolim — should I marry a maidservant?" And the young woman sat in the other corner, saying to herself: "I am the daughter of Kohanim Gedolim — should I marry a servant?" They sat in their corners and wept throughout the night. When morning came, they recognized one another, wept together, and continued to weep until their souls departed from this world. (Gittin 58a) Rabbi Yishmael in Rome Rabbi Yishmael was extraordinarily beautiful and wise, and as a young boy he was brought to Rome. The great Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, who happened to be in Rome at the time, learned that a Jewish boy was being held captive and resolved to redeem him. He devised a plan: he went to where the captives were held and recited the first half of a verse from the Prophets: "Who gave Yaakov over to plunder and Israel to the robbers?" (Yeshayahu 42:24). At once the boy completed the verse: "Was it not G-d, against Whom we sinned, and in Whose ways they would not walk?" Rabbi Yehoshua did everything in his power to redeem the boy, declaring: "I am certain that this boy will grow up to become one of the greatest Sages." (Gittin 58a) Rabbi Yishmael became a disciple of the great Rabbi Nechunya ben Akana, author of the Kabbalistic work Sefer HaBahir and the prayer Ana BeKo'ach. How Rabbi Yishmael Blessed G-d "Said [the High Priest] Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha: "Once [on Yom Kippur] I entered the Holy of Holies to offer incense. And I saw [the angel of the highest level] Akatriel [do not pronounce the full name] of the L-rd of Hosts seated upon a throne, lofty and exalted. And he said to me: 'Yishmael, My son, bless Me.' I said to him: 'May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger, and may Your compassion prevail over Your other attributes, and may You deal with Your children with the quality of mercy and not with strict judgment.' And he nodded His head in approval." (Berakhot 7a) The angel seen by the High Priest Rabbi Yishmael is an expression of the concept of unity. His name, Akatriel, derives from the word keter ("crown"). This symbol of royal sovereignty represents the highest level of Divine manifestation — the all-encompassing force that sustains the existence of all creation as a whole and each of its elements individually. The Prayer of Rabbi Yishmael Kohen HaGadol https://silatehilim.com/молитва-раби-ишмаэль-коэн-а-гадоль/ (Based on a lesson by Rabbi David Chavush; https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/605-Rabbi-Ishmael-ben-Elisha-ha-Kohen)