The Wonders of Harav Yitzchack Kadouri

62 The story is told, that after the Ben Ish Chai passed away, his son Rabbi Yaakov attempted to speak be- fore the congregation on Shabbat, just as his father did. During the discourse, many complained that they FRXOGQ¶W KHDU WKH VSHDNHU 5DEEL <DDNRY WRRN WKH RSSRUWXQLW\ WR H[SODLQ ZK\ ³<RX KHDUG P\ ID - WKHU MXVW ¿QH DV WKH Shechinah (Divine Presence) spoke from his mouth (causing his voice to travel) . , KRZHYHU GRQ¶W SRVVHVV VXFK PHULW ´ As noted earlier, the Ben Ish Chai was among the sages of Baghdad who ur- ged the Rav not to reveal the extant of his knowledge by speaking in public, when the Rav was merely seventeen years old. A daughter of nobility I heard an unusual story from Yitzchak, the son of the great-granddaugh- ter of the Ben Ish Chai , Marcelle Perachah. In Tevet 1986, when the Rav still prayed in the Yazdim synagogue in the Bucharim neighborhood, his PRWKHU VDW DPLGVW WKH ZRPHQ SUD\LQJ LQ WKH ZRPHQ¶V JDOOHU\ 7KH 5DY blessed the crowd of women and returned to his seat, inquiring about the woman who wore the coat and green hat, while warning that she should not enter his house after the prayers (as was customary for those who wished to receive a blessing from the Rav.) The Rav was told that the man sitting near him was her son. After the prayers, her son approached the Rav and asked him why he refused to see that particular woman, his mother. The Rav responded that because of her holy lineage, he was not able to be in her presence. Her son then told him that she was a descendant of the Ben Ish Chai , whereupon WKH 5DY VWRRG XS DQG H[FODLPHG DORXG ³0\ PDVWHU DQG WHDFKHU 0\ PDV - WHU DQG WHDFKHU WKH GLDGHP RI P\ OLIH ´ 7KLV LV WKH PHDQLQJ RI WKH SKUDVH ³)URP KRO\ VWRFN WKH GDXJKWHU RI KRO\ SURJHQLWRUV ´ 0D\ * G EOHVV KHU ZLWK ORQJ OLIH ¿OOHG ZLWK JRRG DQG SOHDVDQWQHVV $PHQ The Ben Ish Chai zt”l