The Wonders of Harav Yitzchack Kadouri

103 out that my skullcap shouldn’t cover the two pairs of te¿llin on my head, as I was accustomed to doing. Actually, we are commanded to wear only one pair of te¿l- lin , but many wear two pairs, called Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam te¿llin , based on two interpretations of the law. The Rav him- self wore these two at the same time, according to Kabbalah. Still, the Rav told me to have my Rashi te¿llin showing and not be covered over by my skullcap. I trembled, not trying to disagree with the Rav. “Doesn’t the Ben Ish Chai write that one should cover both?” I asked. The Rav smiled, and reiterated his ruling, without explanation. /ater on, I found a source for this, based on the words of the Psalms ( 7: 7) , “Keep whole and see straight,” which contain an allusion to this ruling. The Hebrew words read, “ Shemor Tam v’Reah Yashar ,” the word Tam referring to the te¿llin of Rabbeinu Tam and requiring them to be kept hidden, while the word Yashar refers to the te¿llin of Rashi, requiring them to be seen. Needless to say, I immediately changed my practice and did as the Rav instructed. The Rav’s chair In the last years of the Rav’s life, he prayed in Yeshivat Nachalat Yitzch ak. This building, situated in the Bucharim section, set amidst the beautiful pano- rama of Jerusalem houses, was adjacent to the Rav’s house. This was in order to facilitate the Rav, as he found it dif¿cult in his later years to walk. He had a special cane, sancti¿ed by his usage, almost like the staff of Moses. When "Observe l'homme intègre, regarde le juste".