The Wonders of Harav Yitzchack Kadouri

290 The sand lot The ‘sand lot’ is an ancient method of divination and de- termining events, used for centuries by the greatest Kab- balists and righteous tzaddikim in every generation. Rabbi Chaim Vital writes that one who knows how to perform this esoteric method must, of necessity, have a form of Divine inspiration. The Rav practiced this often, and his answers were always amazingly accurate. This method is attributed to the Patriarch Avraham, and is also mentioned in the following works: The Rambam in his Sefer Hamitzvos (see mitzvah 31 where he writes, He who spreads out sand and creates diagrams in it…) , the Rambam in his commentary to the mishnayot (Avodah Zara 4) , Sefer Haikarim (4:4) , the Ramban in his introduction to his commentary on the Pentateuch, the Yedei Chaim (written by the Ben Ish Chai , hilchot tishah b’av page 77 ) , and the Mikdash Melech (on the Zohar, vol. 2 page 184.) The key lot The Rav also performed a lot using a key tied on a red string to a book of Psalms, to determine the fate of various people who were considered missing, including soldiers taken hostage. He could also determine if they were still alive or not. Whatever he as- certained, was always right. He would suspend the key and watch whether the key would begin to circle clockwise or counterclockwise, after saying the verse, “G-d, you are my portion, my lot in life.” Which ever way it would circle, would determine if the answer was positive or negative. The Rav was Àuent in thousand of holy names, and wrote hun- dreds of amulets. There was almost not a single sickness which the Rav did not write an amulet for. The material he wrote onto varied, as he could write amulets on parchment, paper, copper, bones of animals, apples, almonds, leaves, earthen pottery, eggs and pictures…