The Wonders of Harav Yitzchack Kadouri

216 May his merit protect all of Israel, and may we have the pri- vilege of seeing his face, radiant as the ¿rmament Above. I thus began, with the help of G-d, immediately after the seven days of mourning, preparations for building an edi¿ce worthy of the Rav’s honor, over his grave. I once more saw the Rav in my dreams. He appeared with a long white beard and smiling, radiating light, young and vigorous. He rested his two hands on my head and blessed me that I should have success in all my endeavors. How could one have such a dream and not be elated? I awoke, overjoyed, yet still not comprehending why the Rav blessed me so. Didn’t the Rav, just seven days before, come to me in a dream and ask me to accompany him on his Heavenly ascent? I remember that the Rav had left me alone, without any explanation. And now the Rav appeared once more in a dream, this time showering me with his blessings, which never failed to produce results. You should succeed, have good health… Perhaps this is the right place to mention an earlier time when I saw the Rav. For a period of some two years, I was unable to visit the Rav for per- sonal reasons. A month and a half before the Rav passed away, I came on impulse to pray in the Nachalat Yitzchak synagogue. The caretaker honored me to of¿ciate as the chazzan for the Afternoon Prayers, where the Rav sat, his face showing obvious signs of exhaustion. I prayed slowly, throwing frequent glances at the Rav and where his ¿nger pointed to in his prayer book. I remem- bered better days, when I would blow the shofar for the Rav during the month of Elul. The Rav prayed slowly, not missing even one letter. At the end of the prayer, the Rav signaled to me to come closer, so that he could bless me. Trembling with emotion, I removed my hat and bent forward, my head res- ting on his knees. I tried to pay attention to his words, but his voice was weak from fatigue. I managed to hear him say the following, “You should succeed in everything, have good health, and earn your living honorably.” I couldn’t hear anything else, as someone was shouting in the background, “Malka, go down, you are disturbing the Rav.” But the Rav wasn’t perturbed or bothered, and continued to bless me for another minute and a half, his lips murmuring blessings without interruption. Again I heard shouting in the background for me to desist, but I didn’t walk away until the Rav ¿nished blessing me, not realizing that this would be the last blessing that I would receive from the Rav before his demise, forty days later.