The Abuhatzeira Dynasty

Introduction: The Roots of the Dynasty and the Growth of Leadership

Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira, known in modern Jewish history by his epithet "the Baba Sali," represents a unique model of charismatic leadership that combines a halakhic decisor, a divine kabbalist and a highly influential public leader.^[1] He was born on 1 Tishrei 5650 (September 26, 1889) in the town of Rissani (Moulay Ali Cherif) in the Tafilalt province of Morocco, into a family that had shaped the spiritual world of North African Jewry for generations.^{[1, 2, 3]} His father, Rabbi Masoud Abuhatzeira, was the eldest son of Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira, author of the famous kabbalistic work "Abir Yaakov."^{[1, 4]} From his earliest childhood, the native language and living environment of Rabbi Israel were made up of Arabic and Berber, the languages characteristic of the geographical region of southern Morocco.^[2]

His spiritual growth took place within a strict family framework, in which its sons were required to devote their lives totally to the service of God.^{[4, 5]} Already in his youth he stood out for his extreme diligence of some 18 hours a day, while completely withdrawing from worldly affairs and pleasures.^[4] Alongside profound theoretical study of the revealed and hidden Torah, Rabbi Israel trained in practical sacred skills that demand precision and particular holiness, among them the writing of STaM (Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot), the laws of ritual slaughter and circumcision.^[4] This depth laid the foundation for his becoming a halakhic and meta-halakhic authority for the Jews of Morocco, and later for diverse communities in the State of Israel.^{[1, 6]}

The Family Structure and the Continuity of the Dynasty

Rabbi Israel's personal and family life was interwoven with a deep commitment to the continuity of the Torah dynasty, with his close family members holding central public and spiritual roles.^{[3, 7]} From his marriage to his wife, Rabbanit Freha née Amsalem, nine children were born, but only three of them reached adulthood.^[3] This continuity, with its family and public ties, is described in the following table:

The early death of his eldest son, Rabbi Meir, in 5743 (1983), was perceived as a deep family and public tragedy, since Rabbi Israel saw in him the most direct and qualified successor to his spiritual path.^{[3, 7]}

Divine Service, Asceticism and Charismatic Leadership

The inner spiritual world of Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira was founded on exceptional practices of abstinence and asceticism, which went beyond what was customary in his generation and served as the basis on which his mystical authority rested.^{[5, 8]} For fifty years he resolved to abstain entirely from eating meat, and he barred himself from the pleasures of the material world.^[8] On weekdays he refrained even from eating fish and restricted his diet in the extreme, while practicing prolonged fasts of speech and continuous fasts from one Sabbath to the next.^{[4, 5]} Only at the end of his life, when his body had weakened significantly and his physical strength had waned, was he forced to have his vow annulled for reasons of health.^[8] This renunciation of asceticism was made out of a clearly altruistic motive – the wish to prolong his days so that he could continue to help and bless those who turned to him.^[8]

The epithet "Baba Sali," which means "the praying father" in Judeo-Arabic, derived directly from this way of life.^[6] The crowds who came to his home sought to receive his blessing and to merit salvation, out of the perception that his extreme asceticism had refined his personality and made him a direct spiritual channel for conveying prayers.^{[6, 8]} Rabbi Israel used to pray and plead for mercy for those who turned to him for long hours, until he felt that his prayer had been accepted and that his blessing would indeed be fulfilled in reality.^[6]

The Turning Point in Erfoud and the Historical Bond with Chabad Hasidism

The public turning point in Rabbi Israel's life came in the wake of the murder of his elder brother, Rabbi David Abuhatzeira, may God avenge his blood.^[1] This tragic event forced him to take upon himself the yoke of official leadership, and he was appointed to serve as rabbi and head of the rabbinic court in the town of Erfoud in Morocco.^[1] In Erfoud his educational and national influence began to take shape, especially in light of the spiritual struggle he waged against the trends of modernization and secularization that had penetrated the Jewish communities.^[1]

In the month of Iyar 5711 (1951), the Chabad emissary to Morocco, Rabbi Shlomo Matusof, arrived in Erfoud.^[1] This meeting laid the foundation for a historic alliance between the Abuhatzeira dynasty and the Chabad movement and its leader, the Lubavitcher Rebbe.^[1] Rabbi Israel worked together with Rabbi Matusof to establish a local Talmud Torah in Erfoud, and was a full and active partner in its expansion.^[1] Their joint activity was intended to save Jewish children from studying at the local French school (the "Alliance" network), where only secular subjects were taught, with no religious content.^[1] This bond became deeply personal and intellectual; Rabbi Matusof regularly stayed as a guest in the Baba Sali's home, and there, through long nights, the Baba Sali, his son the Baba Meir and Rabbi Matusof sat together and conversed about words of Torah, halakha, the Kabbalah of the Arizal and the Tanya.^[1] In these conversations, differences of custom between Sephardim and Ashkenazim grounded in the esoteric teaching were clarified, with a display of deep mutual esteem.^[1]

Immigration to the Land of Israel and the Intervention of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

In 5711 Rabbi Israel immigrated to the Land of Israel for the first time, but his encounter with the spiritual and social reality of the lives of the new immigrants from North Africa led him into a deep spiritual crisis.^[1] Out of despair at the low spiritual state that prevailed in the transit camps and in the immigrants' settlements, and at the influence of secular state education, he considered leaving the country and emigrating to the United States.^[1] He hoped that there he would be able to devote himself to his Torah study and his spiritual service in tranquility, without the public burdens that had accompanied him.^[1]

This plan was halted following the direct intervention of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who sent him letters of historical importance ^[1]:

A communal man and a leader in Israel: In a famous letter dated 9 Nisan 5712, the Rebbe analyzed the essence of the Baba Sali's role.^[1] The Rebbe explained that Heaven had granted him unique powers and the standing of a leader whose voice thousands heed, and that he is therefore defined as an "ish klali" (a communal man) who is not permitted to concern himself with his private tranquility.^[1] The Rebbe urged him to remain in the Land of Israel, to fight for the preservation of the faith of the Sephardic immigrants and to prevent their spiritual downfall.^[1] Rabbi Israel accepted the Rebbe's words and immediately canceled the emigration plan.^[1]

One of the elite: In an earlier letter of 26 Tevet 5712, the Rebbe addressed him with rare titles and called him "chad mi-bnei aliyah" ("one of the elite") – a concept that defines a completely righteous person in the Tanya.^[1] The Rebbe encouraged him to establish educational institutions of pure holiness for the immigrants' children and to preserve the tradition of their fathers.^[1]

Afterwards, Rabbi Israel returned periodically to Morocco and to France, where he used to stay at the Chabad yeshiva in Brunoy.^[1] In 5724 (1964) he returned to the Land for good and settled at first in the town of Yavne.^[1] However, he left the town and moved to Netivot because of a symbolic incident – a disparaging expression that the head of a local Lithuanian kollel uttered about the founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov.^[1] This swift departure underscored his uncompromising commitment to the honor of the great masters of Hasidism and their teaching.^[1]

His Torah Teaching and the Book Ahavat Yisrael

Although his figure was engraved in the public mind as a miracle worker, Rabbi Israel was a towering Torah genius, versed in all parts of PaRDeS.^{[1, 9]} Throughout his life he wrote and composed several precious books containing deep commentaries and novellae, but these manuscripts were taken from his home under obscure circumstances.^[9] The Baba Sali knew who had taken the writings and where they were being held, and whenever the painful subject came up in his home, he used to say to his son, Rabbi Baruch: "I know, my son, I know who took my writings, and I also know where they are."^[9]

The principal work in his own hand that survived and was published is "Sefer Ahavat Yisrael."^{[10, 11]} The book was reprinted from his holy autograph manuscript itself and contains wonderful explanations and commentaries, in a concise manner, on 127 commandments of the Torah alluded to in the verse "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."^{[11, 12]} The author's original intention was to go on to allude to all 613 commandments of the Torah, but it is unclear whether the manuscript available to the printers was partial or whether the work was in fact never completed.^[12]

In chapter 1 of the book, Rabbi Israel deals at length and systematically with the gravity of the sin of baseless hatred, which in his view is the main cause of the prolongation of the exile.^[13] He analyzes human psychology and maps out four main factors that lead to this hatred ^[13]:

Rabbi Israel concludes this homily with a sharp call to rectify this bitter social sin, and stresses that only the removal of jealousy and hatred from the heart will allow the coming of the Messiah and the building of the Temple.^[13] Alongside this exposition, the book includes profound homilies on the Giving of the Torah, the festival of Shavuot, Shabbat HaGadol, Shabbat Zakhor, and the virtue of charity.^[11]

Several major biographical works have been written about his life and teaching, documented in the following table:

His Passing, the Establishment of the Grave Site in Netivot and the Succession Struggles

Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira passed away in Netivot on 4 Shevat 5744 (January 8, 1984), at the age of 94.^{[1, 2, 18]} His death marked the beginning of a fascinating sociological process of the institutionalization of holiness and pilgrimage in Israeli society.^[18]

The development of the Baba Sali's grave in Netivot as a national center of religious worship went through several significant stages ^[18]:

The struggle over the succession to the Baba Sali's seat exposed deep family and religious tensions.^[18] His son, Rabbi Baruch Abuhatzeira, declared himself the official successor, but most of the family members, as well as the Haredi newspaper "HaModia," sided rather with the grandson, Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira (the son of the Baba Meir), who enjoyed a cleaner public image in comparison with his uncle.^{[7, 18]} In the end, physical control of the grave site remained in the hands of Rabbi Baruch's court, which manages the place through the association "Keren LeHantzachat Baba Sali" (the Fund for Commemorating the Baba Sali).^[18]

Today the site draws some quarter of a million visitors each year on 4 Shevat, as well as crowds on Lag BaOmer.^[18] Around the site a thriving industry of selling amulets and souvenirs has developed, in which stones taken from the courtyard of the grave are sold for hundreds of shekels to obtain protection and blessing.^[18]

Long-Term Cultural Influence and Summary

The influence of Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira extended beyond the direct family and communal boundaries of his community.^{[1, 18]} He became a national symbol of holiness and of connection to tradition, accepted across different factions of Jewish society in Israel and in the Diaspora.^[1] The power of this charisma left a deep imprint on the structure of spiritual leadership in the south of the country.^{[18, 20]}

A prominent example of this cultural influence is the figure of Rabbi Yisrael Abergel, one of the senior Torah leaders in Netivot today and head of the "HaMeir LaAretz" institutions, who was named at birth after the Baba Sali.^[20] Rabbi Abergel, the son and successor of Rabbi Yoram Abergel, works in Netivot inspired by the same halakhic and kabbalistic teaching that combines the rulings of the Shulchan Arukh with the world of Hasidism and the esoteric, as printed in his books "Chalev HaAretz" and "Mesilot El HaNefesh."^[20]

In sum, the figure of Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira represents a unique synthesis of immense Torah diligence, extreme ascetic abstinence, courageous social leadership in times of crisis in Morocco and in Israel, and a penetrating moral teaching reflected in his work "Sefer Ahavat Yisrael."^{[1, 5, 11]} His work served as a vital bridge between the communities of Moroccan Jewry and the new Israeli reality, and left a spiritual, institutional and architectural legacy that continues to shape the religious and cultural character of the State of Israel.^{[1, 18]}