Rabbi Abraham of Kalisk (1741-1810) was a controversial figure in the 3rd generation of Chassidic leaders. In his youth, he was a study partner of Rabbi Elijah "the Gaon of Vilna," who led the initial opposition against Chassidism; but later Rabbi Abraham himself joined the the forbidden kat ("sect," as the Chassidic movement was derisively called by its opponents) and became a disciple of Rabbi DovBer, the Maggid of Mezeritch, the successor to Chassidism's founder, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. After Rabbi DovBer's passing in 1772, much of the opposition to Chassidism was directed against Rabbi Abraham's disciples, who, more than any other group within the movement, mocked the intellectual elitism of the establishment's scholars and communal leaders; even Rabbi Abraham's own colleagues were dismayed by the "antics" of some of his disciples. In 1777, Rabbi Abraham joined the first Chassidic "aliyah", in which a group of more than 300 Chassidim led by Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk emigrated to the Holy Land. Rabbi Abraham passed away in Tiberias on the 4th of Shevat of the year 5570 from creation (1810 CE).
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Immanent Transcendence
Rabbi Israel Abuchatzera (1890-1984), known as "Baba Sali," was born in Tafillalt, Morocco, to the illustrious Abuchatzera family. From a young age he was renowned as a sage, miracle maker and master kabbalist. In 1964 he moved to the Holy Land, eventually settling in the southern development town he made famous, Netivot. He passed away in 1984 on the 4th of Shevat. His graveside in Netivot has become a holy site visited by thousands annually.
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Baba Sali Stories
Mockery is the prime weapon of the dark impulses within Man.
It is the most effective obstacle to prevent you from moving forward and upward—the thought that perhaps people will say, “Why are you behaving today differently than you did yesterday? Weren’t you good enough then? Are you really so great today?”
And the most powerful mocker is the one within your own self.
When you start something you know is good and right, and you hear a voice inside saying:
“Who do you think you are? Hypocrite! You know what you were up to just a moment ago!”
—know that what you did a moment ago is irrelevant.
All that matters is what you will do right now.
Any voice that holds you back from moving forward—no matter how justified it may sound
—any such voice is a voice of destruction and decay,
not of growth and life.