Excerpting: “The Abuchatzeira Legacy Haggadah” by Rabbi Mordechai Lehbar. ArtScroll Mesorah Publications. 2025. 296 pages. ISBN-10: 1422643182.
(Courtesy of Artscroll) The charitable acts of Rav Yisrael Abuchatzeira, known as Baba Sali, were legendary. Viewing charity as an essential element of pre-festival preparations, he was especially meticulous in observance of this mitzvah prior to festivals, increasing his already generous distributions.
Baba Sali offers an insight into the passage from the Mussaf festival prayers, V’hasiyeinu, where we say, Bestow upon us, O Hashem our God, the blessing of Your appointed festivals for life and for peace, for happiness and for joy. He says that one who gives charity prior to the festival is blessed in these three areas:
Life, as is stated: Tzedaka tatzil mi’maves, Charity rescues from death (Mishlei 10:2).
Joy, as Chazal write that Hashem says: “If you bring joy to My four, I will bring joy to your four” (Your son, daughter, servant, and maidservant—Yalkut on V’samachta).
Peace, he will be blessed with peace in his own home, rewarded measure for measure for having effected peace between HaKadosh Baruch Hu and the poor person.
Baba Sali was not satisfied with simply giving tzedakah; he would influence others to give as well. On Shabbat Parashat HaChodesh, he would pledge a handsome sum so others would take note and follow suit. He would then solicit funds in a special pre-Pesach collection.
One year, he was away from home and asked Rav Masud Malul to be in charge of the annual Parashat HaChodesh appeal, which began with a significant pledge in the name of our revered Rav.
When Baba Sali returned home on the night of Erev Pesach, Rav Masud informed him that he had collected 45,000 francs from the community and had already distributed the funds to the poor. It was a particularly difficult economic period in which costs were rising, and Baba Sali feared that the poor people would not be able to shoulder the burden of pre-Pesach expenses. He immediately took 45,000 francs from his personal funds to match that which had been collected from the community. He then asked Rav Masud to immediately go and distribute the entire sum and then return to him and report that he had fulfilled his mission.
Rav Masud rode his bicycle from house to house, distributing funds until very late at night. As instructed, he returned to inform our revered Rav that he had completed his mission. He was surprised to see that despite the very late hour, the travel-weary Baba Sali had not yet retired for the night. He would not go to sleep until Rav Masud informed him that the poor had received what was designated for them so that they, too, would be able to celebrate the festival with joy.
After moving to Eretz Yisrael, Baba Sali would send his attendant R’ Nissim Izerrer with the pre-Pesach collection along with a long list of beneficiaries of Baba Sali’s assistance as well as his blessing for Pesach.
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Among Baba Sali’s many charitable acts, he distributed matzah shemurah to the poor and needy. The local ruler in his region in Morocco designated a few fields where wheat was grown under strict supervision from the time of harvesting for the Abuchatzeira family. Large quantities of wheat were sent to Baba Sali’s home, the majority of which was distributed to poverty-stricken individuals, each receiving an amount sufficient for them to bake matzot for the entire Pesach. Baba Sali himself would knead and bake large amounts of matzah shemurah on Erev Pesach after midday and distribute them to the poor to fulfill the mitzvah of matzah at their Seder.
The same was true regarding wine. The chief rabbi of Morocco would customarily send to Baba Sali large barrels of Pesach wine under his own personal supervision, with a note attached: “To the great and pious HaRav Yisrael Abuchatzeira shlita … the majority of the wine is to be distributed by the Rav to the poor to enable them to fulfill the mitzvah of drinking four cups and to enable them to rejoice with wine throughout the festival.”
Before the Pesach festival, Baba Sali would personally make the rounds from house to house. From one house he would collect kimcha d’Pischa, while at the next he would dispense it. One year he returned home from a journey on Erev Pesach and asked whether his family had distributed funds to cover the needs of the poor. They answered affirmatively; one added that he knew for a fact that they had used the funds to buy matzah, wine, fish, and meat for the festival.
Baba Sali listened intently. “Was clothing purchased for them as well?” he asked. Upon receiving a negative answer, he immediately commissioned a group of tailors to sew enough garments for all the poor of the city for the entire festival.
Realizing the sheer volume of this order, the head tailor approached Baba Sali and explained to him that even if “… the master of the house is insistent” (Avot 2:15), the task is too much to finish in time for the festival. Baba Sali instructed them to begin work anyway. Meanwhile, he sent messages to the poor that the tailors needed to know each person’s size for the clothing they were making them for after the festival. Even if they would not be able to rejoice over receiving new clothes in honor of Yom Tov, they would at least feel good that someone cared for them.
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The financial burden of Baba Sali’s yeshivah in Erfoud fell on the shoulders of his brother Rav Yitzchak, known as Baba Chaki. One Erev Shabbat, there was not a morsel of dough available for baking challah. Baba Chaki, not wishing to disturb his saintly brother who was totally immersed in learning, sat in the outer room and cried.
A man arrived seeking Baba Sali’s blessing, only to find the Rav’s brother in tears.
“What is happening?” he asked.
Baba Chaki explained that they did not have dough to bake challah for the students for Shabbat. The man was very moved and explained that he is in charge of transporting flour for baking matzah shemurah for Pesach. Now that he was presented with the opportunity to fulfill such a great mitzvah, how could he simply move on?
“I will donate my flour to the yeshivah,” he offered.
Understanding that the man would not have flour remaining for his matzah, Baba Chaki refused his magnanimous gesture. The man insisted until Baba Chaki acquiesced. The students had challah for Shabbat and the donor was the yeshivah’s guest.
After Shabbat, he came to Baba Sali for a blessing. Baba Chaki informed his brother of the source of the challah they had eaten that Shabbat. Baba Sali was very grateful and blessed him that soon he would merit acquiring great wealth that would remain with him for the rest of his life.
Within a very short time, the man was chosen as the primary supplier of food for the French army in Morocco and became immensely prosperous.
Reprinted from ”The Abuchatzeira Legacy Haggadah: by Rabbi Mordechai Lebhar with permission from the copyright holder, ArtScroll Mesorah Publications.
