Rav Yosef Shlomo Dayan

Early years

Rav Yosef Shlomo Dayan zt"l was born in 5684 (1924) in Halab (Aleppo), Syria, the son of Rav Nissim. He came from a rabbinical family that traced its line back to King David, and he was given the name Shlomo.

In 5694 (1934) the family moved to Eretz Yisroel and settled in the Rechavia neighborhood of Yerushalayim. He learned Torah with great diligence. After several hours of learning in school, he learned Gemara and halachic literature with his father, with remarkable insight and depth.

After the age of eighteen he had to work as a delivery driver to earn a living. Later he was released from prison, where he had been held on false accusations, and he decided to withdraw from worldly matters and devote himself to Torah. He changed his name to Yosef.

Torah and leadership

Rav Yosef began to study the four paths of Torah in depth: the simple meaning, the hints, the homiletic and the hidden. He could learn for eight hours without stopping, and he knew all of Tanach by heart. He tried to hide both his deeds and his knowledge, and very few knew his greatness. He never married, lived modestly and guarded the holiness of the covenant with great care.

He kept away from every comfort and would not even have a heater in his home in winter. He wore a thin shirt all year round, sometimes immersing in the mikveh in his clothes so as to purify them as well. He fasted and did teshuvah, and he ate only raw rice soaked in water, uncooked potatoes or stale bread. He worked to purify the physical side of himself and always kept the Names of Hashem before his eyes. Despite this way of life, his body was not harmed, and he was accustomed to very little sleep and food.

He studied the sefer Eitz Chaim and its commentary with great diligence, together with other kabbalistic seforim, and became expert in all their content and details. He then devoted himself to the study of tikkunim, davening and doing teshuvah to add to his own holiness. For fifteen years in a row he went alone to the kevarim of tzaddikim in the Galil, secluded himself greatly, and held tikkunim, fasts and tefillos there. He said that one hour of davening at the kever of a tzaddik is worth a hundred hours of learning in the Bais Medrash.

He helped the needy from every part of society, and he reached great heights and uncovered the souls of tzaddikim. He would not allow himself to be addressed by titles, and he would not accept anything without payment or effort. He dressed simply, he was happy when someone shamed him in public, and he sometimes acted in a way that made people mock him, so that he would be forgiven for his own failings. Yet he did not stay silent when the honor of talmidei chachamim or of the Torah was harmed, and he would speak out, loudly or privately, but always pleasantly.

It is told that because he knew Arabic and other languages, he would disguise himself as an Arab cleaner, enter schools and monasteries, and when he found Jews who had fallen into the hands of missionaries, work to rescue them.

Teachings and seforim

Rav Yosef wrote the sefer Toras HaTikkunim, also known as VaYavo Ad Chevron. He borrowed seforim for writing it, and near the end of his life he returned them all.

Later years and passing

Each night he learned before dawn, immersed in a mikveh, and davened at sunrise. After davening he would say Shema again, quietly, pronouncing every word. He was careful to daven next to a wall, to say "leshem yichud" before every tefillah and mitzvah, and to give tzedakah even when his own finances were tight. He said Kiddush Levana seven days after the molad and did not wait for Motzai Shabbos.

For a whole year he would light a candle in a special room in the Nachlaot neighborhood of Yerushalayim for the elevation of the soul of every tzaddik who had passed away that day. He held a memorial service, recited dozens of names and lit many candles on a tray. He also took a large part in funding, from his own money, the building of the hall of the Nezer Aharon shul in Yerushalayim, with davening, tikkunim and fasts for the building to be done well. He did not want his name remembered as the donor.

In Adar 5740 he suffered a severe heart attack and was hospitalized for a long time. He sent his talmidim to pray at the kevarim of tzaddikim, asking for mercy from Heaven for him. When he came out he would not take medication, and he ate honey to strengthen his heart.

In 5743 he told his talmidim, "In another two years I will complete my tikkun." Feeling that his end was near, he revealed to one talmid the secret of interpreting dreams and told him to keep holding tikkunim at the kever of Shmuel HaNavi and davening at the kevarim of tzaddikim. He also returned the books he had borrowed for writing his book of tikkunim and the money he had borrowed to build the shul hall.

On a Thursday night in Tammuz 5745 he learned through the night, as usual, in the cave of Shimon HaTzaddik. At around three in the afternoon he returned his soul to his Maker. Rav Yosef passed away on 9 Tammuz 5745 (1985).

Legacy

Not many knew Rav Yosef Shlomo during his lifetime. The mekubalim Rav Mordechai Sharabi and Rav Yitzchok Kaduri both testified that he was one of the thirty-six hidden tzaddikim of his generation.

Most of the time Rav Yosef kept up the appearance of a humble, private person, in simple clothes that covered his exalted soul. Few knew even a little of his greatness, because he took care to hide it.