The Wonders of Harav Yitzchack Kadouri

47 Digressing to matters of Kabbalah and other secrets, the Rav spoke about the transmigration and reincarnation of soul, specifying some esoteric details. All were amazed at his breadth of knowledge. After the discourse, several Rabbis and Sages present approached and instructed him not to reveal his knowledge in public, afraid of the effects of the evil eye. The young Yitzchak accepted their decision, and until his last day, concealed the true extant of his knowledge from the eyes of the general public. He would pretend as if he GLGQ¶W XQGHUVWDQG HYHQ ZKHQ LQ WKH FRPSDQ\ RI RWKHU VFKRODUV +H VDW TXLHWO\ without uttering his thoughts on the subject. As a result, his colleagues in the Yeshivat Porat Yosef GXEEHG KLP ³5DEEL <LW]FKDN ZKR UHPDLQV VLOHQW ´ 7KH IRUPHU 6HSKDUGLF &KLHI 5DEEL +DUDY 0RUGHFKDL (OL\DKX ]W´O UHODWHV the following story. Once, the elder Sages of the Yeshivat Porat Yosef in the Old City pressured him to lecture, but the Rav refused. After more persuasion, KH ¿QDOO\ UHOHQWHG DQG GHOLYHUHG DQ XQXVXDOO\ LQFLVLYH DQG OHQJWK\ GLVFRXUVH discussing an argument between two of the classic commentators on the Shul- chan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) , the Ketzot Hachoshen and the Netivot Hamish- pat +LV FROOHDJXHV ZHUH WDNHQ DEDFN VD\LQJ ³:H QHYHU VDZ 5DY <LW]FKDN like that before.” It seemed as if one of the great Lithuanian Rabbis was stan- ding there, delving into the intricacies of Talmudic Law. One of the sages SUHVHQW VDLG ³7KH JUHDWQHVV RI 5DY <LW]FKDN LV LQ KRZ KH FRQFHDOV KLPVHOI ´ ,Q WKH 2OG &LW\ RI -HUXVDOHP DW WKH WXUQ RI WKH WK FHQWXU\ VHYHUDO 6DJHV and Kabbalists gathered to study the secrets of Kabbalah together, despite great poverty. In the month of Sivan, 1907, Harav Shlomo Raphael Laniado zt”l arrived in Jerusalem and founded Yeshivat Ohel Moed , the forerunner of Yeshivat Porat Yosef . There, these Sages received a meager monthly stipend, and soon other Sages and Kabbalists joined them. This yeshiva paved the way for the establishment of the Yeshivat Porat Yosef some 16 years later, in the PRQWK RI ,\DU Respected by great people