Rav Sholom Mizrachi Didye Sharabi

Early years

Rav Sholom Sharabi zt"l, known as the Rashash, was born in Yemen in 5480 (1720), the son of Rav Yitzchok Sharabi. His brilliant mind was plain from an early age. But his father passed away young, and the orphaned Sholom could not stay in the Talmud Torah, because he was now the sole support of his family.

He became a traveling merchant, selling his wares from door to door. That left him only his evenings free for the learning he loved, and he often stayed in the beis medrash until the early hours of the morning before going home for a few hours of sleep. Even so, his thirst for Torah was not satisfied. He discovered Kabbalah as it was developed by the sages of Yemen and threw himself into it, and he excelled in this as well. Still, he insisted on earning his living, and he went on peddling as before.

It is told that on one business trip he found himself in great danger and vowed that if Hashem saved him, he would move to Eretz Yisroel. He was saved, and he left his friends and family and set out on the long journey. On the way he stayed in India, Baghdad and Damascus, and he left a strong impression on the rabbonim there. Finally he reached Yerushalayim, where he lived out his vow.

Torah and leadership

In Yerushalayim he came to Yeshivas Beis El, the yeshiva of the mekubalim (Kabbalists), headed by the renowned Rav Gedalia Chiyun. He longed to join the talmidim of the inner Torah, but he did not want to reveal how much he already knew. He presented himself as a simple Jew and took a job as the shamash (sexton) of the beis medrash.

It is told that the position let him learn without being noticed. No one paid attention to the shamash, who listened closely to every word, and little by little his knowledge rose far above everyone else's, while his greatness stayed hidden. One day a question arose in the yeshiva that no one could answer. For days the mekubalim searched their heavy volumes without finding a satisfying explanation, and Rav Gedalia became deeply troubled. Rav Sholom knew the answer but stayed silent, until the day he found Rav Gedalia weeping over an open sefer and begging Hashem to light up his mind. That night, when the beis medrash was empty, Rav Sholom wrote the answer on a small slip of paper and left it between the pages of Rav Gedalia's sefer.

In the morning the beis medrash was in an uproar, for the difficult problem had been solved clearly and logically. The same thing happened again and again: whenever a hard question was raised in the evening, its answer was found in Rav Gedalia's sefer the next morning. A thorough investigation could not discover where the answers came from.

The riddle was solved when Rav Gedalia's young daughter, Chana, mentioned that she had seen the Yemenite shamash paging through her father's seforim more than once. The next time a question went unanswered, Rav Gedalia pretended to leave for home and hid in a closet. To his utter shock, he saw the shamash consult the holy seforim and tuck a slip of paper into his siddur. The next morning Rav Gedalia insisted on seating Rav Sholom at his right hand and revealed the secret to everyone. He later named him his successor, although Rav Sholom was only twenty-seven, and Chana, the daughter of Rav Gedalia Chiyun, became his wife.

Rav Sholom's greatness was now known throughout Yerushalayim, and many stories are told of his wisdom. He headed Yeshivas Beis El for thirty years, until his passing. During those years he also succeeded in protecting the Jews of Yerushalayim from their Muslim neighbors. Among his talmidim were the Chida, Rav Yosef Dovid Chaim Azulai, and the Maharit Algazi, Rav Yom Tov Algazi, who succeeded him as Rosh Yeshiva after his passing. Others were Rav Chaim DiLaRoza and Rav Gershon of Kitov, the brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov.

Teachings and seforim

The Chida described the Rashash as a holy man who knew by heart all the kabbalistic seforim he learned, and who davened with all the kavanos (mystical intentions) written by the Ari. In his own study of Kabbalah, Rav Sholom learned only the Zohar and the writings of the Ari and his talmid Rav Chaim Vital. He did not learn the works of the Ari's other talmidim, or of any other mekubalim, early or late.

He wrote a commentary on the Etz Chaim. Rav Yeddiya Abulafia said that whoever learns Etz Chaim without the commentary of the Rashash is like a blind man feeling his way in the dark.

Among his most famous writings is the Siddur HaRashash, a kabbalistic siddur based mainly on the teachings of the Ari HaKadosh and known for its special kavanos for tefillah. Its introduction is called Rechovos HaNahar. It has become the standard siddur for Sephardic mekubalim today and is still used by mekubalim for davening.

Later years and passing

Rav Sholom passed away on 10 Shevat in Yerushalayim and was buried on Har HaZeisim (the Mount of Olives).

Legacy

It is told that before his passing Rav Sholom promised that anyone who visits his kever and davens with a pure heart will not have his tefillah go unanswered. His kever remains a place of pilgrimage to this day. Among the segulos associated with the Rashash are hataras klalos (annulling curses) and protection from ayin hara.