The Crown of the Sages • On the first anniversary of the passing of Maran HaGaon

One year since the passing of Maran, the Glory of the Generation, HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani zt"l (of blessed memory), the friend and companion of HaGaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days). Before you is an article published in the Hitchadshus magazine regarding his lofty activities.

A extremely rare combination merged within HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani. It was a blend of being one of the greatest leaders of the generation for many decades, while simultaneously living a life of hiding his true greatness, such that many people knew of him but did not truly know him.

One of the things that distinguished Rabbi Baadani was his study of Musar (ethics) and books of Cheshbon HaNefesh (spiritual accounting). As was recounted at his funeral by one of his students, who heard from HaGaon Rabbi Shalom Cohen zt"l, he remembered Rabbi Baadani from the period when they taught at the Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Katamon. Rabbi Baadani would engage every single night for about an hour and a half in the study of the book *Chovos HaLevavos* (Duties of the Heart) by Rabbeinu Bachya zt"l. Thus, he continued all his days to be attached to Musar, and even in the Kollel (study hall for married men), he would deliver a Musar talk full of wisdom every Thursday, with many flocking to hear his wonderful words.

After his passing, his student HaRav HaGaon Rabbi Yigal Mori shlit"a testified in an interview with the information line, based on what he saw for thirty-five years(!), that Rabbi Baadani would go up every day from six to seven to his daughter's house above the Kollel in order to perform an hour of Hisbodedus (secluded prayer) there!

Maran, the Knight of the Fountains, Rabbi Ezra Attia zt"l, the Rosh Yeshiva of Porat Yosef—under whom almost all the great Sephardic leaders of the generation were students—appointed Rabbi Baadani to be the Rosh Yeshiva of Porat Yosef in the Katamon neighborhood. This branch was established after the conquest of the Old City in 1948, where the Porat Yosef Yeshiva had resided until then. After a period, Rabbi Baadani was called to Bnei Brak to open Torah institutions for the Sephardic public.

Rabbi Baadani seemingly remained without his lofty position, yet nothing clouded the serenity of his life. Here, Rabbi Baadani was a partner in the establishment of several important yeshivas in Bnei Brak, such as Yeshivat 'Or Torah' of Rabbi David Malinovsky and Rabbi Tzvi Siman Tov, Yeshivat 'Tiferet Moshe' of Rabbi Amnon Sabbag, Yeshivat 'Beit Shemaya' headed by Rabbi Englander, Yeshivat 'Shaarei Teshuvah v'Chaim,' and more, and he even disseminated Torah within them.

Further evidence of his greatness in Torah and in his hiddenness is his wondrous knowledge of the hidden Torah (Kabbalah), knowledge that led Maran Rabbi Shach zt"l, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh, to establish a special study session with him. In earlier years, Rabbi Shach would come once a week to Rabbi Baadani's study hall; the two would lock themselves in the study hall and study the teachings of Kabbalah for several hours, with almost no one knowing anything about the study or its content, as I heard from my father shlit"a who studied in Bnei Brak over half a century ago.

It is worth noting that many of the great Torah scholars living among us from the Sephardic community were his students in the yeshiva, such as the Gaonim Rabbi Moshe Maya, a member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages), Rabbi Daniel Zer, Rabbi Moshe Yifrach, Rabbi Shimon Ben Chaim of Ramat Gan, and many others. After Rabbi Baadani moved to Bnei Brak, Maran Rabbi Shalom Cohen zt"l was appointed to head the yeshiva.

[caption id="attachment_59598" align="aligncenter" width="680"] HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani zt"l visiting the residence of our teacher Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a[/caption]

"And Humility is the Greatest of Them All"

Our holy Rebbe (Rebbe Nachman) already said that he can draw anyone close, but someone who wants honor—not with him. Thus, we can understand a bit of the great merit Rabbi Baadani had to warm himself in the light of the Light of Lights, our holy Rebbe, and even to travel to his holy gravesite in Uman. A trip that was entirely intended solely for prostrating on the Rebbe's grave and fulfilling his holy testament, twenty-five years ago.

To trace the tapestry of connections between the great leader of the generation zt"l and our teacher the Rav shlit"a, we turned to his student and close associate Rabbi Aaron Raz, one of the students of our teacher the Rav.

For thirty-two years, Rabbi Raz merited to know Rabbi Baadani, to drive him from place to place, and to peek a bit into the inner sanctum, beyond the veil. Among other things, Rabbi Raz saw Rabbi Baadani's approach during all the years of the terrible controversy against our teacher the Rav—a wondrous and piercing approach of a leader of the generation throughout the entire sad affair.

At Rabbi Baadani's Side

"In my early twenties, I realized I needed to start searching for the purpose; I wanted meaning in life," Reb Aaron begins. "At that time, my parents moved to Ramat Gan, and I began to participate in the class of HaRav HaGaon Aryeh Yazdi, a student and close associate of my teacher and rabbi, Rabbi Baadani zt"l.

"After a significant period, I had several questions on fundamental issues that required the decision of a great man. When I laid out my doubts before Rabbi Yazdi, he suggested I ask his Rabbi and receive an answer. This was in the year 1991 (5751). After I entered Rabbi Baadani's room, he resolved my doubts in a very clear manner. I greatly enjoyed his words, and from then on, I began to be in closer contact with him.

"Over time, I saw that on Fridays there was no one to take Rabbi Baadani on the trips he needed. I had a car, and I began to drive him from his home to the Kollel and back. He had a fixed schedule on Friday: he would pray Mincha Gedola (early afternoon prayer), then go to the Mikvah (ritual bath), and afterward, he would regularly travel to the home of Maran HaGaon Rabbi A.M. Shach zt"l, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh, and he had a fixed session with him for about an hour to an hour and a half.

"In those years, Rabbi Shach was already weak and would not receive people, but Rabbi Baadani would enter regularly. After a long period of driving him on Fridays, on one occasion I insisted that I wanted to enter with him to see Rabbi Shach, and then I saw that Rabbi Shach, despite all his weakness, stood up for him. Rabbi Baadani immediately asked him: 'Let the Rosh Yeshiva sit,' but Rabbi Shach answered: 'I am standing before the next leader of the generation!'

"Rabbi Baadani would ask him questions that had accumulated during the week regarding leadership, questions on Talmudic topics, and they would also study topics together. In fact, the connection between them started much earlier, because after Rabbi Baadani studied in the yeshiva in Hadera in his youth, he moved to the Novardok Yeshiva in Jerusalem during the period when Rabbi Shach also taught there, and thus he had been his student since those years. There were several questions regarding me that Rabbi Baadani asked Rabbi Shach, and years later I saw how right he was. The vision of a great man."

What did they study together?

"I didn't pay much attention to what they studied, but I heard a rumor that they studied Kabbalah together.

"By the way, in 1995 (5755), Rabbi Baadani began to teach Kabbalah on Shabbat at the time of Mincha to a small group of students in his daughter's house. This continued for several years, but after a while, more and more people arrived, and when Rabbi Baadani saw this, it was stopped."

The Rav was a revered Rosh Yeshiva; why did he leave Jerusalem and go down to Bnei Brak?

"The one who brought him to Bnei Brak was Rabbi Shach himself, who saw the situation where there was no Sephardic Torah institution in Bnei Brak, and he brought Rabbi Baadani to open a Sephardic Kollel. Rabbi Baadani was the first Sephardic Rosh Kollel in Bnei Brak, and thus he began to develop institutions for the Sephardic public.

"Years later, the burden on Rabbi Baadani increased, and Rabbi Baadani went to Rabbi Shach saying he could not handle the great burden when he had phone calls all day, and he wished to return to Jerusalem to study.

"'It shall not be!' Rabbi Shach told him. 'The public needs you, and you cannot leave this place!' Instead, Rabbi Shach suggested that one day a week he should disconnect and travel to Jerusalem to study. Indeed, Rabbi Baadani did so, and since then began his arrival in Jerusalem every Wednesday for decades.

"At that time, I was still working, but I wanted to leave work because I wanted to study more and also to serve Rabbi Baadani more. In consultation with him, he told me to take unpaid leave, and so I did, and from then on, I would travel with him to Jerusalem on Wednesdays.

"Hashem prepared the place for him in advance. Over fifty years ago, Rabbi Baadani received an offer to purchase a small and modest apartment in the Jewish Quarter. Rabbi Baadani, who always wanted this holy place, purchased the two-room apartment and another small room above it. And to this apartment, we would travel every Wednesday to study.

"In his home in the Quarter, he would study Gemara (Talmud) almost all day, except for an hour and a half in which he would study Kabbalah with one of his students from Bayit VeGan, with Rabbi Baadani asking to keep the matters secret."

[caption id="attachment_59599" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani zt"l visiting our teacher Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a in the hotel, Nissan 2017 (5777)[/caption]

Hisbodedus at the Kotel

"Every time I would come to him at the apartment, he would teach me Gemara. For the Maariv (evening) prayer, we would go down to the Kotel (Western Wall), after which he would sit in front of the Kotel for about forty-five minutes and perform Hisbodedus (secluded prayer) with his Creator. Sometimes, during this, he would cry. It was a special sight. In order not to disturb him, I would stand to the side and look at him. After Maariv, we would return to the apartment and sleep there, and in the morning after the Shacharit (morning) prayer, we would drive back to Bnei Brak. This schedule, as well as the study in Chavrusa (partnership), continued for decades until a few months before his passing when he no longer had the strength.

"On holidays, I would take Rabbi Baadani to his student from Porat Yosef, HaGaon Rabbi Eliyahu Medina, the Rabbi of the Old City, and there they would study together. Their apartments in the Quarter are adjacent to each other, and thus a great closeness was created between them, as on holidays Rabbi Medina would host Rabbi Baadani and sometimes on Sabbaths as well."

Establishing the Settlement of Hashmonaim

"On Thursdays, Rabbi Baadani would make his way to the settlement of Hashmonaim. This is a settlement established by Rabbi Baadani himself in consultation with Rabbi Shach, for Bnei Torah (Torah scholars) from the Sephardic public. Rabbi Baadani established Torah institutions there, including a Kollel and a Yeshiva, and appointed his student Rabbi Meir Deri to head the Yeshiva.

"Every week, Rabbi Baadani would travel there and strengthen the residents of the settlement, who enjoyed his light and received his advice and decisions, and thus a place of Torah was established. This was even before the establishment of the city of Modi'in Illit."

My Trip to Uman

"At that time, I had already been in Shidduchim (marriage matchmaking) for several years and had not yet married. One day, a Breslov Chassid from the center—Reb Shmuel Ovadia—met me and suggested I travel to Uman for the upcoming Shavuot holiday. When I refused, he suggested I ask my Rabbi. And indeed, I went to Rabbi Baadani.

"Here I must note that when Rabbi Baadani was studying, he was so deeply immersed that you could talk to him and call him for several minutes and he wouldn't hear you at all. So it was here; only after fifteen minutes of me trying to talk to him did he suddenly wake up and ask me what I wanted. I told him that a certain Breslov Chassid was telling me that all my salvation depends on this—should I travel?

"Rabbi Baadani heard me and immediately stood up from his place and said to me: 'What is the question?! Prepare a suitcase and travel! All your salvation depends on this!' And indeed, on Shavuot 1995 (5755), I traveled to Uman for the first time. When I returned, Rabbi Baadani was interested in what happened there, and I told him about the great awakening I merited at the gravesite.

"Reb Shmuel Ovadia did not leave me alone and said: 'Now you must arrive for Rosh Hashanah, and then you will immediately see the salvation.' Again, I received an instruction from Rabbi Baadani zt"l to travel, and indeed, after about a month and a half, I received my Shidduch (marriage match) with Divine help, and that same winter I was married.

"It should be noted that his son, HaGaon Reb Moshe Baadani, had also been waiting for a Shidduch for several years, and on that same trip for Rosh Hashanah, he joined me at his father's instruction, and he too got married that year with Divine help. After he waited to be blessed with children and was not yet answered, Rabbi Baadani again instructed him to travel to Uman, and indeed he was blessed with a child immediately.

"After Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Baadani was again interested in what was happening in Uman. I told him about the unusual awakening there, how Rebbe Nachman opens everyone's heart. When I arrived at the Rebbe, I felt as if I had arrived at a place I already knew. I described what happened, adding enthusiastically: 'The Rav also needs to travel there!'"

[caption id="attachment_59600" align="aligncenter" width="650"] HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani zt"l visiting our teacher Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a in the hotel, Nissan 2017 (5777)[/caption]

The Trip of the Leader of the Generation to Uman

"Rabbi Baadani took the matters quite seriously, and so after two years, in 1998 (5758), Rabbi Baadani told me to contact Rabbi Yisrael Meir Gabbai for the trip. Finally, Reb Chananya Swissa z"l from the 'Siach Machmadei Eretz' organization organized the trip.

"I wanted to join, but Rabbi Baadani told me not to leave in the middle of the study term, adding that I had already been there for Rosh Hashanah. Indeed, I did not travel, but to this day I regret that I missed the trip to Uman together with him. Rabbi Baadani traveled quietly, because he knew that if he said he was traveling, many of his students would immediately join the trip.

"Joining him was his student HaGaon Rabbi Eliyahu Medina, and the trip included the gravesites of the Light of the Seven Days, our holy master the Baal Shem Tov zy"a, as well as the gravesite of the Defender of Israel, the holy Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev zy"a, and others.

"Rabbi Medina told me that when they arrived at the Rebbe's grave in Uman, Rabbi Baadani placed his head on the grave for nearly half an hour, and when he lifted his head, a puddle of tears had collected there! Years later, Rabbi Baadani himself told me about the great awakening he had at the gravesite.

"Years later, I also learned of Rabbi Baadani's knowledge of *Likutey Moharan*. This was when Reb Yehuda Stern from 'Nitzotzot' magazine requested the photo of the Rabbis at the Rebbe's grave, and then we contacted our followers from Kfar Saba who were at the grave then and photographed them. They told us that they asked Rabbi Baadani to give a sermon while at the Rebbe's grave. Rabbi Baadani agreed, and in his sermon, he quoted many teachings from *Likutey Moharan*..."

Establishing the "Or HaChaim" Institutions

"In Tel Aviv, there was a layman named Reb Moshe Pardo. He owned electrical shops in the city and was a wealthy man. A connection was formed at some point between him and Rabbi Baadani, and when he saw that Rabbi Baadani did not have a proper place for a Kollel, he immediately donated to it. Additionally, he donated a room for young men who were already studying with Rabbi Baadani then (Rabbi Yigal Mori, Rabbi Metzrafi, Rabbi Menashe Cohen, and others were students of Rabbi Baadani since their youth, after they were released from the army).

"After a period, one of the Rabbi's students in Mexico heard about young men sleeping on mattresses on the floor and donated the magnificent building of the yeshiva opened by Rabbi Baadani, 'Shaarei Teshuvah v'Chaim' in Bnei Brak for young men, where he appointed his student Rabbi Moshe Yifrach as Rosh Yeshiva.

"I remember Reb Pardo only at the end of his days when he was no longer in good health. We would go every Friday evening to his home to pray Maariv there, and Rabbi Baadani would dance with him during Kabbalat Shabbat. Rabbi Baadani was very grateful to him for everything he did.

"Reb Pardo suggested to Rabbi Baadani to travel to Mexico and Argentina (where he originated) where the spiritual desolation was very great. The Rabbi told me years later that when he arrived there, there were barely any Sabbath-observing families. But Rabbi Baadani did not despair and established magnificent communities with yeshivas in several places in South America.

"For fifty years(!), Rabbi Baadani would travel once or twice a year to strengthen the community. And indeed, a massive revolution occurred there, such that today there are two thousand Avreichim (married Torah students) through his influence(!) engaged in the holy Torah, along with Talmud Torahs, seminaries, yeshivas, and kollels. When I would take him to Bayit VeGan, sometimes he would point out a student to me and say: 'This is a second or third generation from the community in Mexico.' The members of the communities there would donate to Reb Pardo's Torah projects.

"At that time, there was no seminary for girls in the entire country, and as a result, Bnei Torah had no one to marry. A girl who did not grow up in a seminary did not want a Ben Torah who only sits over the Torah and service all day. Rabbi Baadani encouraged him to set out, and thus the magnificent 'Or HaChaim' institution in Bnei Brak was established, thanks to which tens of thousands of Torah homes were built. He appointed Rabbi Eliezer Ben David zt"l as the spiritual director. Rabbi Baadani would always say that he envies Reb Pardo's portion in the World to Come."

Soon You Will Have a Rabbi...

"It was during Sukkot 1998 (5759), when I was with Rabbi Baadani in the Jewish Quarter, I said to him: 'I want a blessing that I will never leave you all my life.' In response, Rabbi Baadani answered me: 'I cannot give you such a blessing.' I was surprised by the response and asked him for its meaning.

"Then Rabbi Baadani gave me a wondrous answer: 'You will soon meet a certain Avreich (young married man) in Breslov who will draw you close to a great Rabbi, and that is your place.' I thought he was saying it jokingly.

"In those years, the Chassid Rabbi Michael Gol, a student of our teacher the Rav shlit"a, would deliver a class every week in Bnei Brak on Ben Yaakov Street in the home of Shmuel Ovadia. I would participate in that class even as a young man, but I did not know our teacher Rabbi Berland shlit"a at all; I only knew that Rabbi Gol was his student.

"In 1999 (5759), many students were thrown out of yeshivas and Avreichim from kollels due to their travel to the Rebbe's grave in Uman. When Rabbi Gol turned to our teacher the Rav shlit"a, he received an instruction to open a yeshiva, and thus Yeshivat 'Mageinei Eretz' was opened in Tel Aviv. Rabbi Gol suggested I come and study in the Kollel he established, and indeed I joined the yeshiva there as a regular student, with the assistance of Rabbi Kossovsky.

"At that time, the Chassid Reb Meir Kobi opened the Shadar"im Kollel in Tel Aviv, and the Rav shlit"a would arrive there every few months to deliver a class, and thus I merited to see our teacher the Rav shlit"a for the first time. From then on, I began to connect more and more to our teacher the Rav shlit"a.

"Later we moved to the Katamon neighborhood, and the yeshiva was located exactly in the building where Rabbi Baadani taught"...

His Connections with Our Teacher Rabbi Berland

The tapestry of connections between our teacher the Rav, the Holy of Holies shlit"a, together with Maran the Glory of the Generation Rabbi Baadani, is long and actually began more than sixty years ago!

"Rabbi Baadani told me years later that he was already involved in the Shidduch (marriage match) of the Rav and the Rebbetzin, and Rabbi Baadani has a family connection with the Rebbetzin through his sister," says Rabbi Raz.

"After the wedding, the Rav shlit"a drew close to our holy Rebbe and would go out with the fire of his heart for entire nights for Hisbodedus (secluded prayer) in the field. Rabbi Baadani told me that the Rebbetzin came to him several times saying it was difficult for her that the Rav was not there, and he would strengthen her and explain to her that she has the merit of having a holy husband who serves Hashem, and that this is the holy way of Breslov.

"I was always in contact with Rabbi Baadani; although less than in the past, every holiday I would go up to him to be blessed, and at every opportunity, I would come to him. So too, before the trip for Rosh Hashanah, I would come to him, and he would bless me and additionally send a Kvittel (prayer note) with me every year to the Rebbe's grave. By the way, in Rabbi Baadani's Kollel, there are about ten prominent Torah scholars who travel every year to Uman for Rosh Hashanah.

"Once I asked him why he doesn't travel for Rosh Hashanah to Uman, and he answered me that he has a yeshiva and students here, and if he leaves them, they will be very distressed, but he is happy that he already traveled once to Uman."

[caption id="attachment_59601" align="aligncenter" width="900"] HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani zt"l delivering a class at the Shuvu Banim Yeshiva in the Old City[/caption]

The Historic Letter

"During the period when the Rav was in Johannesburg, the local Rabbi (Chief Rabbi), with the help of wicked people from here in the Holy Land, was persecuting the Rav strongly with lowly informers, to the point that matters reached immediate life-threatening danger. Rabbi Baadani called me and asked: 'What is happening here?' I told him the story, and he asked to check the matters. He had an Avreich in his Kollel whose daughter was married to the son of the Sephardic Rabbi in Johannesburg. Rabbi Baadani investigated the matters thoroughly and then called me and said that the Rabbi there is a wicked person, and he would now issue a letter against him and that I should take the matters to all the leaders of the generation to sign.

"And indeed, Rabbi Baadani wrote a sharp letter against the persecutions they did there to the Rav. I turned with the letter to the Machnovka Rebbe shlit"a, and when he saw Rabbi Baadani's signature, he immediately took out a pen and signed, to the amazement of his Chassidim who told me that the Rebbe never signed in the middle of prayer. I approached the homes of Maran Rabbi Kanievsky, Rabbi Steinman, Rabbi Elbaz, Rabbi Mazuz, Rabbi Zilberstein—who went out of his way and signed—and many others of the leaders of the generation who joined the letter, and it was sent to its destination. Since then, that rebellious Rabbi was frightened and stopped the persecutions against our teacher the Rav shlit"a and his students. It should be noted as an act of gratitude that HaGaon Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman, the Rabbi of Migdal HaEmek, assisted me in getting the signatures of the great leaders of Israel.

"The letter made a great noise, being a rare document signed by all the leaders of the generation from the Chassidic, Sephardic, and Litvish communities.

"When the Rav returned to the Land, Rabbi Baadani told me he wanted to come to our teacher the Rav to visit him. Thus began the tapestry of visits to our teacher the Rav shlit"a. I remember that I came to him once on a Tuesday, and he told me that tomorrow he wanted to come to the Yeshiva in the Old City to preach there to strengthen the members of the community.

"And indeed, on the following Wednesday, Rabbi Baadani arrived, and with true self-sacrifice, he climbed step after step the dozens of difficult stairs of Hebron Street (Ma'aleh Khalidiya), and all the stairs of the Yeshiva in the Old City up to the study hall on the top floor. Rabbi Baadani delivered a special strengthening class there that made a great noise in the world.

The wicked cannot be quiet, as they tried to defame the name of our teacher the Rav shlit"a in every possible way. Thus, when all their many efforts came to naught, they tried to establish a 'Beit Din' (Rabbinical Court) against our teacher the Rav shlit"a, thinking that this action would be the final blow to their plan.

However, as has happened since ancient times throughout history to several of the greatest Tzaddikim, when courts were established specifically for them with a clear goal to erase them from the face of the earth—while we all today know their righteousness which was proven to all—so too in the case of our teacher the Rav shlit"a, the forgery and deceit done in this court was revealed in the light of the sun.

The one who merited to be the messenger to reveal the righteousness of the Tzaddik was Maran HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani, who in his great wisdom knew how to immediately distinguish the lies done here in the guise of a proper Beit Din. He fought with all his might against the conclusions of this court and exposed the distortions and hidden motives of this court to all. He even added his signature to the ruling issued by the great Gaon Rabbi Nissim Ben Shimon shlit"a, the Head of the Rabbinical Courts of the Tel Aviv district and surrounding areas, who examined the details and immediately realized that serious things were done here against the laws of the Torah. He issued a clear ruling completely nullifying that 'Beit Din.' Great judges joined his words, such as the great Gaon Rabbi Shlomo Ben Shimon, a member of the High Rabbinical Court, and to their words, Maran HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani zt"l added his signature.

Rabbi Raz: "Rabbi Baadani told me: 'Rabbi Ben Shimon is the Head of the Rabbinical Courts; in his role as a judge, he has already been there for fifty years! It is his job to check in Torah law that everything is done according to the law, and therefore I join him.'

"HaGaon Rabbi Nissim Ben Shimon is the President of the Rabbinical Courts of Tel Aviv, which is the largest Beit Din in the country, with thirty courts under his supervision!

"And during Rabbi Baadani's visit to our teacher the Rav shlit"a in Shaare Zedek Hospital, Rabbi Baadani said: 'This entire Beit Din is a lie! The witnesses and the judges—it is all a complete lie!!!'

"Rabbi Baadani did not stop at this, and at the height of the period of controversy, he arrived specifically to our holy community and delivered a special class in the courtyard of the Nechamat Zion Talmud Torah, where he strengthened all the students of our teacher the Rav shlit"a (see sidebar).

"In his words, he told of his grandson who had gone off the path, and everything he tried to do did not succeed. They brought Roshei Yeshiva and Torah scholars to talk to him and nothing helped, but when he arrived at our teacher the Rav shlit"a, the Rav strengthened him and gave him a study schedule, and even instructed him to travel to Uman. After a few days, the grandson came to his grandfather Rabbi Baadani and informed him that he was going to yeshiva. Rabbi Baadani began to cry from great emotion. The power of the Tzaddik."

[caption id="attachment_59602" align="aligncenter" width="600"] HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani zt"l at a gathering for the Shuvu Banim community after the court ruling in the courtyard of the 'Nechamat Zion' Talmud Torah[/caption]

Holy Conducts

"Rabbi Baadani would not sleep on a bed in the afternoon, so as not to enter into the dispute of the Halachic authorities (Poskim) whether he would be obligated by an afternoon nap to recite the blessings over the Torah again. Instead, he would sit on a chair and rest there.

"His diligence was awesome. He was always sitting over the Gemara and engaging in Torah. His student HaGaon Rabbi Moshe Maya told of a time when Rabbi Baadani merited that the Rosh (Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel) appeared to him in his dream after hours in which he toiled over his words, and told him the explanation of his words!

"Rabbi Baadani was careful every day to stay awake until the hour of Chatzos (midnight) and participate in the sorrow of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) by reciting Tikkun Chatzos (Midnight Lament). However, this did not prevent him from waking up early, and even before dawn, he would already be awake and preparing for prayer.

"I would come to take him in the morning for prayer at sunrise (Netz). Rabbi Baadani was very precise in his schedule, and if I was late by a minute(!), he would already be heading toward the taxi stand near his home to take a taxi. More than once I arrived at him, but if he had already arranged with a driver, he would no longer agree to travel with me, saying it was a concern of theft (Gezel), since he had already agreed with him, and therefore he would travel with a taxi and pay.

"It was impossible to move him a millimeter from his opinion. He was always of clear mind, and it was impossible to deceive him in anything. But his humility was immense, despite all his greatness."

Not to Benefit from This World

"His simplicity was not common at all. He did not want modern things at all, and his home remained old as he did not seek anything for himself from the matters of this world.

"There is a story that happened in the apartment in the Old City, that once the plumbing there broke and he asked his son to fix it. The son fixed it, but for the purpose of the repair, it was necessary to replace some of the old ceramic tiles, and similar ones were no longer to be found, so he replaced all the ceramics.

"When Rabbi Baadani arrived the following week and saw the new ceramics, he began to shout at his son: 'Who asked you to touch all this? Who told you to replace it? How will I enter here now? You put modern ceramics for me!'... The son tried to apologize that he didn't find anything in the shops like what was there, and therefore he had no choice but to replace everything, but for Rabbi Baadani it didn't help; it distressed him greatly.

"So it was also with the benches in his Kollel, that about a decade ago one of the donors arrived and decided he could no longer see the old benches in the study hall and replaced them with new ones and renovated what needed to be renovated. When Rabbi Baadani returned from Mexico and saw this, he was truly distressed that they were replaced. They explained to him that there was no choice because everything was outdated, but Rabbi Baadani was not convinced and said to them: 'With this money, you could have fed dozens more Avreichim,' so Rabbi Yazdi recounted.

"At a certain stage, one of the students donated a magnificent chair to Rabbi Baadani and left the old chair in the office. When Rabbi Baadani saw this, he asked Rabbi Yazdi to immediately return the old chair and in no way agreed to sit on the new one. They left the chair near his place, and when a Rabbi would come to speak with him, he would seat him on that chair"...

Dogs Returning to Their Vomit

"Rabbi Baadani told me that once three 'important people' in rabbinic dress came to him and began to speak with him in the Kollel, saying they were concerned for the Rabbi. Rabbi Baadani asked them: 'Why are you concerned for me? Thank Hashem I have a doctor, and I am careful with my health, what is the concern here?'

"Those rabbis answered him that they see he meets a lot with Rabbi Berland and it is not for his honor. Rabbi Baadani asked them in pain: 'For me you are concerned? And according to your way, what about the Rav's entire community? Hundreds of families of Torah scholars, why are you not concerned for them?' They found no answer, and Rabbi Baadani asked them to immediately leave the place"...

The Last Visit

"After our teacher the Rav shlit"a was released about a year ago, Rabbi Baadani called me on a Tuesday and said: 'Since Rabbi Berland returned to his home, I have not yet visited the Rav,' and he asked me that he wants to come and visit the Rav, but not on Wednesday when he travels anyway to Jerusalem, but on Tuesday. A trip specifically to meet with our teacher the Rav.

"Midway, Rabbi Baadani's daughter called me and said that the Rav had not eaten since the morning, how did we leave like that? But Rabbi Baadani did not consider this, and we drove to Jerusalem.

"When we arrived, we prepared coffee with cake for Rabbi Baadani, and after a short time, the Rav shlit"a entered and the Rabbis began to speak in learning, with the Rav every moment asking his grandson to bring another book and another book, weaving the matters in a wondrous way. At first, there were five or six books on the table; when the Rav finished studying with Rabbi Baadani after about an hour, there were over sixty books on the table!

"On the return trip, the entire way Rabbi Baadani spoke and was amazed by the Rav's greatness in Torah: 'Did you see how he studies? What sharpness! What breadth! What genius!', saying that he had to concentrate well to keep up with the Rav.

"Afterward, Rabbi Baadani said to me: 'How do you expect them not to oppose him?! Such a genius, such a Torah scholar—it is clear they cannot tolerate it and they will oppose him.' He repeated these words again and again.

"When the Rav shlit"a was hospitalized, Rabbi Baadani inquired with me about the Rav's well-being, quoting the verse: 'Surely he has borne our sicknesses'...

"Rabbi Baadani requested a blessing from our teacher the Rav shlit"a for his descendants, and afterward, Rabbi Baadani's daughter thanked me for this, saying she knows that her father held the Rav shlit"a's blessings in very high regard, and that indeed they saw salvations."

[caption id="attachment_59603" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani zt"l during the last visit to the residence of our teacher Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, Adar I 2022 (5782)[/caption]

"And Its Head Reaches the Heavens"

"I saw many times when I entered his room—and so I heard from other Avreichim among his students—that even before we began to speak, he already told us why we came, and he already answered us. We saw several times things beyond nature with him.

"There were many times that people asked Rabbi Baadani a question and simultaneously also the Tzaddik Rabbi Mendel zt"l from Bnei Brak, and both answered exactly the same answer. It was said in the name of one of the hidden Tzaddikim that there was a connection between them.

"Additionally, I heard that before the Tzaddik Rabbi Mordechai Sharabi zy"a passed away, he told his students to go with questions to Rabbi Baadani because he is the next leader of the generation!

"When Maran the Chazon Ish passed away, Rabbi Baadani cried very much and told his close associates that a few days before, the Chazon Ish called him and asked that he sleep at his house, and he was afraid because of the Chazon Ish's great holiness. After the Chazon Ish's passing, he regretted it.

"I would take him to the celebrations of all sorts of Litvish leaders of the generation who would invite him regularly and greatly appreciated him. They would call him 'the Sephardic Chazon Ish,' and indeed he was entirely simplicity like the Chazon Ish."

Outreach

"Once he was invited to preach on Friday night in Ramat Gan, and I drove him there specifically before Shabbat. Hundreds of people arrived who were greatly strengthened by his words. Afterward, he returned on foot for about an hour and a half! When it came to bringing merit to the public, he sacrificed himself for the community."

Gratitude

"When my son shlit"a got married, Rabbi Baadani was supposed to perform the wedding ceremony (Siddur Kiddushin). That day he was supposed to return from abroad in the afternoon and in the evening perform the Chuppah, but there was a delay in the flight and the Rabbi landed only in the middle of the night. Immediately the next day he called to apologize for not arriving... Rabbi Baadani said to me: 'Tell me where there is a Sheva Brachos (festive meal) and I will come.' And indeed, Rabbi Baadani arrived at a Sheva Brachos as far as the city of Holon and canceled his regular schedule in order to show gratitude."

[caption id="attachment_59604" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] HaGaon Rabbi Shimon Baadani zt"l visiting the residence of our teacher Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a; seen at his side is his attendant Rabbi Aaron Raz[/caption]

Fleeing from Honor

"Rabbi Baadani told me that after the passing of Maran Rabbi Ovadia, Maran Rabbi Baadani and Rabbi Shalom Cohen entered a room and argued between them for an entire hour who would be the President of the Moetzet (Council of Sages) out of sorrow and crying over the passing of the leader of the generation. Each claimed that the other must be the President, and the argument continued without resolution. Rabbi Baadani, although he was older, did not agree and said to Chacham Shalom: 'I want to study! I cannot take this.'

"Thus the argument continued until Rabbi Baadani said to him: 'You are after all a Kohen, and the holiness of a Kohen is above everyone, so you shall be the President of the Moetzet.' To this claim, Chacham Shalom had no answer, and he was appointed President of the Moetzet. Both Rabbi Ovadia and Rabbi Shalom took his opinion into great consideration on every subject, and many times when a decision was needed, Rabbi Ovadia would say: 'Whatever Chacham Shimon decides!'"

Our Teacher the Rav at the Sickbed and the Funeral

On Thursday, the 7th of Kislev of this year, while Rabbi Baadani was in Maayanei HaYeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak and all of Israel were pleading in prayer for him, our teacher the Rav shlit"a arrived at the hospital, entered his room, and recited the Tikkun HaKlali by his bedside. As is well known, after this event, Rabbi Baadani's condition improved—which until then had been defined as serious—and he was released to his home.

[caption id="attachment_59605" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Our teacher the Rav shlit"a praying by the sickbed of Rabbi Baadani about a month before his passing[/caption]

After a period, his condition worsened again, and he was evacuated to the hospital where he returned his soul to its Creator... Upon the news of his passing reaching our teacher the Rav shlit"a on the night of the 18th of Tevet, our teacher the Rav shlit"a set out before dawn again to Maayanei HaYeshua Hospital, and this time toward the purification room (Cheder Tahara)... For long minutes, our teacher the Rav shlit"a stood and recited the Tikkun HaKlali by the bed. After this, our teacher the Rav shlit"a eulogized him, and among his words he said: "My Rabbi and the Rabbi of all the people of Israel... My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen..."

For indeed Maran Rabbi Baadani was the last remnant of a generation that was and is no more - - -

[caption id="attachment_59606" align="aligncenter" width="810"] Our teacher Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a at the funeral of Rabbi Shimon Baadani—seen here at the entrance to the purification room[/caption]

This article was published in the Hitchadshus magazine, Adar 2023 (5783). You can at any time fulfill the holy words of our teacher the Rav shlit"a and join as a subscriber to the Hitchadshus magazine to receive the issue every month to your home.

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