Baba Sali Letter Celebrates Holy Land

A historic, newly uncovered document that I acquired for my personal collection this week reveals a passionate, mystically charged response from the holy Baba Sali (Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira) addressing the founding of the State of Israel! Sent directly from Morocco to Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon, Israel’s first Minister of Religion in the First Knesset formed on March 10, 1949, this letter captures a monumental moment in modern Jewish history. 

At the time of writing, the Baba Sali was serving as the rabbi of his community in Erfoud, Morocco. He was no stranger to the brutal realities of the two-thousand-year exile. In 1919, during the aftermath of WWI, his older brother, mentor, and rabbinic predecessor, Rabbi David Abuhatzeira, was brutally executed by anti-French Moroccan rebels who strapped him to the barrel of a cannon and fired it. The devastated community even had to pay heavy bribes to the rebel leadership just to secure his remains for a proper Jewish burial. Following his brother’s martyrdom, leadership fell reluctantly onto the Baba Sali. He initially fled to Jerusalem to publish his brother's holy writings before returning to Morocco to guide his community through an increasingly hostile landscape. As Israel declared independence and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War erupted, antisemitism in Morocco spiked violently, driven by rising pan-Arab nationalism. The danger peaked on June 7-8, 1948, when deadly anti-Jewish riots tore through Oujda and Jerada, critical transit points for Jews trying to escape, resulting in the slaughter of dozens of Jews. Throughout 1948 and 1949, aggressive economic boycotts targeted Jewish businesses, and Jews faced relentless daily harassment, verbal abuse, and accusations of treason in public markets.

It is against this backdrop of extreme peril and immense historical transition that the Baba Sali penned this fantastic letter. He emerges here in his full, radiant glory. The document showcases: brilliant poetry and flawless penmanship: a visual and literary marvel; mastery of the Melitzah style, weaving a flawless, complex mosaic of fragments, expressions, and exact phrases from canonical Jewish texts; and passionate mystical yearning, a deeply charged, emotional response pouring his heart out for the Holy Land.

A loose English translation that does not do the beautiful Hebrew justice follows:

“With the help of G-d, Who chooses Zion, the seventeenth day of the month of Sivan, crowned with the crown of the Torah, may it be exalted, the year 5709 from the creation (June 14, 1949), numerically equal to “LeAtere”t Tzvi”

“For honor and for glory, the crown jewel, all magnificent, the glowing speculum that illuminates with a pleasant light, a savior and a master, a menorah entirely of gold, completely righteous and victorious, the Minister of Religions, the splendor of praise, the honor and renown of his name, the Master, Rabbi Yosef (Yehuda Leib) Ha-Cohen Maimon – may his light, majesty, and splendor shine like the sun in its full strength, may his greatness and mighty glory multiply, and may his kingdom be exalted, Amen.

“A crown of life and peace, and blessings from the Hidden G-d, to the honor of him who is magnificent in holiness, glorious in stature and praise, the Master, Rabbi Yosef, he is alive! He is the provider (Ha-Mashbir), he is the ruler, his throne shall be established in righteousness, and he shall dwell on high, Amen, Netzach, Selah, Va'ed.

“A great prince in Israel! There is joy, gladness, rejoicing, and delight, for pleasantness and beauty have illuminated our faces like the morning light without clouds, at the sound of the good tidings, gleaming and shining, without concealment among you, amid all the desolations of the upright, gladdening sorrowful and grieving hearts. For Hashem has done wondrously for us just as He did for our forefathers; may our ears hear it and our hearts rejoice! Happy are we, how good is our portion!

“This wondrous enterprise has moved from potentiality into actuality (min ha-koach el ha-po'el) with the help of the Worker of Salvations in the midst of the earth, through the agency of the mighty in strength, the champions of Jeshurun who stand in the breach, the kings and the princes, illuminating and shining, the foundations and centers of the nation, into whom G-d has placed wisdom and understanding. They are your elevated Majesty and the strength of your glory. “Happy are you, how good is your portion, and how pleasant is your lot!

“From the depths of man and a deep heart, and in the name of the entire holy congregation under our providential care (may their Rock and Redeemer protect them), I hereby express my heartfelt and warm blessing. I pour out my supplication before the Rock, Who wraps Himself in light like a garment, that He may re-establish, elevate, magnify, glorify, and raise like an eagle the throne of your glory, higher and higher, for a name, for glory, and for praise. May your greatness and mighty glory multiply, and may your kingdom be exalted.

“May Hashem protect you, and may your heart rejoice, and may the Satan, Heaven forbid, have no dominion over the works of your hands. May the pleasantness of Hashem be upon you, and may He send your help from the Sanctuary. May your eyes, our eyes, and the eyes of all Israel behold righteousness with the arrival of the Righteous Redeemer, a complete redemption, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, and may the children return to their borders (ve-shavu banim li-gevulam). May the Holy Temple, the Sanctuary, and the Antechamber be rebuilt speedily in our days, Amen and Amen.

“These are the words of the one who seals with a blessing, Yisrael Abuhatzeira, great-grandson and grandson of the tzaddik, the foundation of the world, the master of secrets, renowned for miracles, our master, the genius of Jacob, Abi-Chatzira – may the memory of the righteous and holy be for a blessing, may his merit protect us, Amen.”