Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi – Rabbeinu Hakodesh
Owing to the exceptional role that he was called to fulfill, Rabbi Yehuda the Prince, the son of Prince Shimon, the son of Gamliel II, is commonly known by the…
Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef
Rabbi Akiva was among the greatest of the great, as it is written, “Are you like Akiva ben Yosef, whose renown fills the entire world?” It was thus that one…
Rabbi Eliyahu Hacohen of Casablanca
Kandil el Bled (“Master of the City”) was the name that the Jews of Morocco gave to Rabbi Eliyahu Hacohen. The saintly Rabbi Eliyahu was greatly venerated by Moroccan Jews.…
Rabbi Abdallah Somech
Enormously knowledgeable, never compromising, and conducting himself with humility that was proverbial, Rabbi Abdullah Somech was the teacher of the Ben Ish Hai. He was also the te
Reb Yitzchak Gvirzman
Reb Yitzchak Gvirzman, fondly known as “Reb Itzikel”, came into the world on Tevet 12, 5642 (1882) in a tiny village near Gerlitz. He was the son of Rabbi Naphtali…
Rabbi Moshe Kalfon Hacohen
At the age of 40, Rabbi Shalom Hacohen had the joy of having a son born in a miraculous way. On the day of the boy’s brit, an enormous crowd…
Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai – the Chida (1724-1806)
In the month of Sivan in the year 5484 (1724), the oldest son of Rabbi Yitzchak Zerahya Azulai and his wife Sarah was born in the old city of Jerusalem.…
Rabbi Shalom Shimuni of Gaftsa, Tunisia
The home of Rabbi Eliyahu in the Gaftsa district of Tunis was small and modest, but the light of Torah shined and radiated outwards, attracting the Jews of Tunis. Grace…
Rabbi Yehudah ben Attar (1656-1733)
Born in Fez during the month of Elul in the year 5415, Rabbi Yehudah ben Attar was one of the great rabbis of Morocco. He became the Av Beth Din…
Rabbi Yaakov Israel – “The Steipler”
Rabbi Yaakov Israel was born on Tammuz 9, 5659 (1899) in the Russian town of Horon-Steipel (hence the moniker “the Steipler”). His father, Rav Chaim Peretz Kanievsky, was a Chernob
