Teaching Team
Yartzeit of Yitzchak Kaduri
Normally the yartzeits posted on the blogs relate to Jewish believers in order to help perpetuate their memory and honor their life. However, this blog will deviate from this normalization (sort of).
Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri (born in 1898 in Baghdad) was a Sephardic Orthodox rabbi and Jewish mystic. As a Torah prodigy Kaduri began his studies in Jewish mysticism while still in his teens. His studies were conducted under the famed Sephardic Rabbi, Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, the Ben Ish Chai.
Having moved to Israel in 1922, Kaduri’s life was characterized by poverty as well as privacy and secrecy. Although Kaduri wrote several works, he never sought their publication and limited their dissemination only to students of Jewish mysticism.
Probably the most well known event in the life of Rabbi Kaduri occurred towards the end of his life which resulted in an encounter with the Messiah. A brief description of the events surrounding this occurence will suffice.
In a meeting in 1990 with Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Rebbe of Lubavitch, many words of blessing were spoken to Kaduri. Among the words spoken by the Lubavitcher Rebbe was the blessing that Kaduri would not pass from this world until he met the Messiah. This came to pass in a mystical vision on 9 Cheshvan 5764 (4 November 2003) when Kaduri spoke with the Messiah; during this encounter, the Messiah revealed His name to Kaduri. Kaduri later noted to his disciples that the revealed name of the Messiah was hidden among his writings.
Kaduri’s disciples came across a note written by Kaduri in which was encrypted the name of the Messiah. This note contained instructions saying that it was not to be opened until a year after Kaduri’s passing. After a year passed, Kaduri’s disciples opened the note and discovered the name the Messiah revealed to Kaduri: Yehoshua (the Hebrew form of the Aramaic Yeshua). Here is an English translation of the note done by an Orthodox Rabbi:
“Regarding the acronym of Moshiach. The masses will themselves arise and verify that his words and his teachings can stand.
With my signature in the Month of Mercy (Elul – Edit.) 5765, Yitzchak Kaduri.”
The initial Hebrew letters of the phrase “The masses will themselves arise and verify that his words and his teachings can stand” spell out Yehoshua. Although the note was deemed by some as a forgery (among those included Kaduri’s son) others stated that it was indeed written by Kaduri. Most of the controversy surrounding the note revolved around the revealed name—that of the Master Yeshua.
Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri passed on 29 Tevet 5766 (26 January 2006) at the age of 108. His funeral procession was one of the largest in attendance in the modern history of Israel.
Note: His yartzeit this year occurs on Monday, January 7th, 2008.
(Credit: Brian R. Volunteer/ Researcher)
Search in Blogs...
Browse through Blogs
Feeds
Use this RSS feed to track our blogs in your favorite reader.
The FFOZ Blogs RSS Feed
Blogs by Category
- Back Office
- Events and Administration
- Founder’s Blog
- Guest Authors
- Lessons from the Land
- Levertoff Documentary
- Mishlei Musings
- Publications
- Road Trip 09
- Shalom Tour
- Teaching Team
- The Siddur Project
- Torah Club
- Video Blogs
- Site Info Blog
Blogs by Author
- Aaron Eby
- Boaz Michael
- D. Thomas Lancaster
- FFOZ Staff
- Guest Authors
- Media Staff
- Hope Egan
- Seth Dralle
- Toby Janicki
More Recent Posts
- Remembrance and Repentance
- Passover and the Death of James the Just
- Hosting Your First Passover Seder
- Devil's Children
- Vacation Time
- Visit Israel with FFOZ
- A KISS from me to you
- Eating biblically? Let's chew the fat.
- Kosher Sunday School
- Messer and the Messianic Mess
Visitor Feedback:
I found the Christian reaction to this news interesting. Half of the people thought Rabbi Kaduri had an encounter with "Jesus" and became a secret Christian; the other half believed that he had met the antichrist.
Aaron Eby | January 6, 2008 6:19 PM
Does the present Jewish community react in anyway to stories like this? Or are they simply dismissed (Like Kaduri's son did)?
Bill Beyer | January 7, 2008 8:05 AM
Bill, with this story in particular, based on what I've found to date, the reaction to Kaduri's note is split down the middle (at least among the Orthodox communities). About half view the note as a forgery of some sort and reject its authenticity. Those who do accept it say that the note is in no way a forgery. Yet, those who accept it say that even though the man Kaduri met has the same name as the Master, the two are not to be considered as the same.
Brian R. | January 8, 2008 6:24 PM