Rav Shlomo Eliezer Alfandari zt”l
96th yahrtzeit: 22 IYAR
BURIED: Har Hazeisim
Known as: Saba Kadisha
The Alfandari was a great Sephardic chacham. He was originally a rabbi in Turkey, later he became the Chief Rabbi of Syria, and afterwards he moved to Eretz Yisroel, where he lived in Tzfas and then Yerushalayim.
The Saba Kadisha was very strong-minded. If he saw something that, in his opinion, was not the right thing to do, nothing would stop him from speaking up.
When he was a rabbi in Turkey, there was a certain Jew who was very influential in the local government. Sometimes he used his position to help the Yidden, but sometimes his opinions didn’t match what the rabbanim held. He was a very powerful person in the government, and whenever there was an important meeting about the Jewish community, the Alfandari would go to his house and make sure he would vote the way the rabbanim wanted.
When the Turkish government wanted to make a harsh decree against the Jewish people, the Saba Kadisha went to this man and tried to convince him to vote against it. But this time, the man was firm. He was not willing to stand up for the Jews this time, and he said he would vote in favor of the law.
In the middle of the vote, the man suddenly dropped dead. There was a large levayah, and the whole Jewish community came, since he had helped so many Yidden. The custom in that place was that only after the rov spoke could anyone else give a hesped. But the Saba Kadisha did not come to the levayah.
The family tried to persuade him, even offering a lot of money, but he would not budge. He cried and said, “I am Hashem’s loyal servant. This man went against Hashem, and did something that harmed the Jewish people. We have all seen how Hashem punished him. I just can’t come and give a hesped.”
The Saba Kadisha lived a veeery long life! It’s not exactly clear exactly how long, but he was definitely close to 120 years old when he was niftar!
I WANNA BE LIKE …The Saba Kadisha
When we are clear about what Hashem wants, let’s be strong and consistent, feeling so connected to Hashem that we can’t go against His will!
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 80.