The Wonders of Harav Yitzchack Kadouri

The gates of Heaven open up to receive the soul of the Rav 187 At this funeral, we accompany a great man, someone who bridged generations by his G-d given longevity. He studied Torah by the greatest luminaries, whose mere mention of their names cause us to quiver and shake. Whenever we would see the Rav, we would say to ourselves, here is one of the remnants from the Great Assembly, one who learned by their feet and drank their waters. We had a certain understanding, a minute concept of the greatness of those masters of yore, upon seeing the Rav. Now we have lost that example of righteousness, that pillar of ¿re which traveled before the camp of Israel, which linked these generations to their past. We saw his prayer, his greatness of being, how he gave of himself to pray and plead compassion for the general public as well as for the individual. Our loss can never be regained. Who can replace the Rav or act as his substitute? Thus we cry. Even more, this day has left a gaping hole. How will we ever aspire to something that we no longer have access to, the Rav’s tremendous sanctity of Torah learning that provided the entire nation with constant merit, the learning of a “lion in concealment,” who delved into the secrets of Kabbalah and prayed according to the meditations he learned from the great masters. His ability to concentrate and meditate while praying came from dozens of years of diligent study and repeated practice, after receiving instruction from his teachers. Who can replace him? Who will ¿ll this gaping hole? This awesome and frightening day is also erev Rosh Chodesh, a day reserved for forgiveness. Today, G-d took from us a “communal sacri¿ce,” an offering on behalf of the entire Jewish nation. Who can say why we need to have such a sacri¿ce, what is so pressing that it requires from us such a great loss? We should not, G-d forbid, categorize ourselves as those who pay no heed to the Divine interplay of events in their lives. This would be a terrible accusation against us. Each person needs to see where he is remiss or what he can do. No one should say who am I, I am small and so miniscule, too weak to effect