Rav Amram ben Diwan
A Kabbalist and emissary from Chevron who founded a yeshiva in Wazan, Morocco, and whose kever draws Moroccan Jews to this day.
Biography
Early years
Rav Amram ben Diwan zy"a, the son of Rav Efraim, was born in Yerushalayim and later settled in Chevron. Moroccan Jews to this day speak his holy name with respect and awe.
Torah and leadership
In 5523 (1763), the rabbanim of Chevron chose Rav Amram as their shaliach (emissary) to Morocco, to collect funds for the yeshivos of Eretz Yisroel. He settled in the Moroccan town of Wazan, where he founded a Talmud Torah and a yeshiva. Many talmidim came to drink from the source of his words.
Rav Amram grew deeply attached to his talmidim, and his fatherly affection bound them to him. He provided for all their material needs and guided them in the path that leads to doing Hashem's will. Through his many efforts he raised and spread Torah in all the communities of Morocco.
It is told that his blessings always came true. Jews travelled from every town in Morocco to find him and seek relief from their troubles through his merit. He cared for each person and for the community as a whole, and his home was always open to the afflicted who came knocking, hoping that the tzaddik would be their staunchest defender before the Holy One, blessed is He.
After about ten years of raising the standard of Torah in Wazan and throughout the country, Rav Amram felt a deep longing for Eretz Yisroel. His talmidim had become great scholars in their own right, and he decided to return to the Holy Land. In Chevron he became friends with Rav Chaim Bagoyo and Rav Avraham Gedalia, the rabbanim of the city. Together they learned Torah and entered many of its hidden depths, rising day by day in Torah and in the service of Hashem.
Return to Morocco
Rav Amram's stay in Chevron was short. At that time Jews were not allowed to enter Meoras HaMachpelah, the burial place of the Avos, but his yearning to daven there could not be held back. It is told that he disguised himself as an Arab and entered the cave with the Muslims who had come to pray. As he stood by the burial place of the Avos, tears covered his face, and he quietly poured out his tefillos, begging the Creator to hasten the final Geulah. No one suspected that this man, so absorbed in prayer, was a Jew.
As Rav Amram was about to leave, an Arab recognized him and ran to tell the Pasha. A friend of Rav Amram, who was a servant of the Pasha, hurried to warn him that the Pasha meant to arrest him. In the middle of the night Rav Amram left, together with his young son, Rav Chaim. They were afraid to return to Yerushalayim or go to a neighboring land, because Turkish power ruled over several countries at that time, and so he decided to go back to Morocco.
When he reached Fez, its Jews welcomed him with great honor, and many of the city's notables competed for the privilege of hosting him. In the end he stayed with Rav Menasheh Ibn Denan, one of the leaders of the Jewish community of Fez. It is told that Rav Menasheh had only daughters, and another girl had just been born. Rav Amram advised him to name her Fedina, which means "we have finished," meaning that the girls were finished. After her, Rav Menasheh had only sons.
Soon after, Rav Amram and Rav Chaim travelled through all the towns of Morocco to spread Torah. In Sefru they stayed in the home of the Elbaz family, who had no children and asked him for a blessing for a son. It is told that Rav Amram blessed them and promised that in the coming year, at the very same time, the wife would give birth to a son who would become a great Torah scholar. The blessing was fulfilled. The boy was named Amram after the tzaddik, and Rav Amram of Sefru became famous as a gaon and great Torah scholar.
While they were staying with the Elbaz family, Rav Chaim fell deathly ill, and the doctors gave him no chance. Rav Amram davened that Hashem take his own soul in place of his son's. Rav Chaim recovered, and the two continued their journey through the towns of Morocco.
Later years and passing
When they reached Wazan, Rav Amram himself became gravely ill, and soon afterward he returned his soul to his Creator, in Av 5542 (1782).
His son, Rav Chaim ben Diwan, carried on his father's work. He went from town to town to teach Torah, and passed away at a ripe old age. He is buried in the village of Anranz, south of Marrakech, and his tomb too has become a place of pilgrimage for Moroccan Jews.
Legacy
The kever of Rav Amram in Wazan became a place of pilgrimage for all the Jews of Morocco. The great poet Rav Dovid Ben Hassin composed a piyut (liturgical poem) in his honor, which Moroccan Jews sing on the day of his hilula. Many stories are told of the yeshuos of Jews and non-Jews who visited his tomb and were healed of all kinds of illness. Rav Amram is remembered as a great tzaddik and mekubal (Kabbalist).
Stories
Yeshuos at the Kever
Many remarkable stories are told of the yeshuos of those who were zoche to daven at the kever of Rav Amram in Morocco. Each year on Lag BaOmer, thousands of Jews travel to Wazan to visit the tzion of the tzaddik. It is told that incurable illnesses have been healed there, the blind have regained their sight, the mute have found their voices, the paralyzed have walked home on their own, and childless women have been blessed with children after davening there.
It is told that a French military sergeant had a son who remained paralyzed after a serious illness. A Jewish friend advised him to bring the boy to the tomb of Rav Amram in Wazan. At first the sergeant was skeptical and refused. Then he promised that if a miracle happened and his son was healed, he would build a road at his own expense, to make the tzaddik's tomb easier to reach. The miracle happened. As soon as the boy came near the kever of Rav Amram, he was healed. The grateful father kept his promise and built the road that leads to the tomb.
Another story is told of a couple in Monsey, New York, who had no child for fifteen years. They were advised to go and daven at the kever of Rav Amram. After the husband finished all of Tehillim there, he heard the sound of a baby crying, though nobody else nearby heard it. Nine months later the couple had a child.
A Visitor's Account
One visitor to the kever, whose name was not given, tells the following story. He heard the story of a miracle baby from the child's father, and he even held the child in his arms. After hearing it, he called two friends who were struggling with shidduchim and told them they should travel together to daven at the tzaddik's tomb.
They booked their tickets and set out for Morocco. On the way they decided to spend Shabbos in Gibraltar, where they ate their Shabbos meals with the president of the community, Mr. Solomon Levy. He told them about his nephew, who had been crippled from birth. The boy's parents had gone to the tzion of Rav Amram. After davening they went for a walk, leaving the boy in his wheelchair to continue davening at the tzaddik's tomb. He prayed for a short while and then drifted off to sleep.
In his dream a man with a white beard appeared and said, "What are you doing in a cemetery? You are a Kohen. You must leave at once." The boy answered, "I can't walk. How can I leave?" Rav Amram told him, "Just get up and walk out." The boy woke up and, miraculously, wobbled out of the kever on his own two feet. He kept up with physical therapy, and today he walks like anyone else.
After Shabbos the three travelled from Gibraltar to Morocco. They davened and recited all of Tehillim at the kever, stayed for a few days, toured Fez, and then returned to the United States. On the following Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan, the visitor made a lechaim and became engaged. Within the next two weeks, one after the other, his two friends became engaged as well.
On a later trip to Eretz Yisroel, after davening at Kever Rochel, a man who looked Israeli asked him for a ride to Yerushalayim. As they drove, the visitor made conversation and asked the man's name. "My name is Amram Biton," he answered. Stunned, the visitor asked whether he was of Moroccan descent and whether he had ever heard of Rav Amram ben Diwan. The man turned to him in awe and said, "I am named after him. My mother was childless for many years and made the journey to his kever. She promised the tzaddik that if she had a baby, she would name him Amram. I am that baby."
Rav Amram's yahrzeit falls around Tu B'Av, and people travel from all over the world to daven at his kever.
Family & talmidim
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Rav Chaim ben Diwan: