Discovery! Extraordinarily Rare Letter Handwritten and Signed by Rabbi Elazar Abuchatzeira as a 15-Year-Old Youth

Discovery! Extraordinarily Rare Letter Handwritten and Signed by Rabbi Elazar Abuchatzeira as a 15-Year-Old Youth
Extraordinarily rare letter from the Admo"r Rabbi Elazar Abuchatzeira "Baba Elazar, " while a 15-year-old youth in Tafilalt, Morocco, [1963]. There are no other letters known from his adulthood, and certainly not from his youth.

The letter before us opens a small crevice into the inner workings of the Kabbalist, possibly the most mysterious active in recent generations. He almost never wrote letters, was almost never seen in public, even his face was almost never exposed; it was consistently covered with a kind of pointed hat which covered his entire face. Even when he left his home to go to the study hall, he was not exposed to the public. There was a special underground tunnel leading from his home to the study hall. In the letter before us, despite the rabbi's young age, the royal and sanctified manner of the Abuchatzeira family can be identified; the name itself inspires chills of sanctity. The rabbi, who was orphaned of his mother, writes a letter at length and very openly to his good friend Rabbi M. Neziri about what is happening with him. He also sends regards from "Mor Abba" - none other than the 'Baba Meir.'

Rabbi Elazar writes, inter alia, in his letter, that he has recently returned from Casablanca. Rabbi Elazar studied at the Chaba"d yeshivah in Casablanca. His brother, may he be distinguished for long life, Rabbi David Abuchatzeira, attests that Rabbi Elazar already knew the entire Tanya by heart at the time. This letter demonstrates that at the age of 15 he already returned from Casablanca and went back to Tafilalt as a teacher in the Talmud Torah. This shows that at the age of 15 he already knew the entire Tanya by heart!

Rabbi Elazar Abuchatzeira, known as 'Baba Elazar' [1948-2011] was a scion of holy ancestors - son of 'Baba Meir'; grandson of 'Baba Sali' and so forth. He was named after the Tana Rabi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai because before he was born, the Baba Sali saw Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in a night vision. At his circumcision, the Baba Sali read the verse "ע'ין ל'א ר'אתה א'לוקים ז'ולתך" ["an eye has not seen the L-rd but for you"] whose first letters spell out his name, regarding him. This illustrative expression demonstrates this newborn's value and soul-root. From an extremely young age, he was mainly known for guarding his eyes, and there was a special underground tunnel leading from his home to the study hall. In the last decades of his life, he only went out into the street a few times. Baba Elazar received masses of people each day, but few were privileged to see the radiance of his face. There are many stories of the tremendous power of his blessings and counsel, and masses flocked to him to receive his advice and blessing. He was murdered in 2011 by a man who came to receive his blessing, drew a knife, stabbed him, and killed him. At the end of the shivah, the chief rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar, wrote a lamentation in his memory in the style of the Tisha B'Av lamentations.

[1] notebook leaf graph paper. 22 cm. Entirely handwritten and signed by the rabbi. Fine condition. Fold marks and creases.