Baba Sali, Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira (1889–1984): biography and legacy

October 15, 2026

Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira (ישראל אבוחצירא), known as the Baba Sali (“the Praying Father”), was a Sephardic rabbi and kabbalist from Morocco. He was born on September 26, 1889 (Rosh Hashanah of 5650) in Rissani, and died on the 4th of Shevat 5744 (January 8, 1984) in Netivot, Israel, at the age of ninety-four. He is one of the great figures among the Sephardic tzaddikim of the 20th century.

Quick facts

The Abuhatzeira dynasty

He came from the Abuhatzeira family, a Sephardic family of sages and tzaddikim, whom tradition calls baalei mofet (wonder-workers). The patriarch was Rabbi Shmuel Elbaz, born in the Land of Israel, who lived for a time in Damascus and studied there with Rabbi Chaim Vital. His descendants settled in Rissani. His father, Rabbi Masud, was a judge (av beit din) in the city; his grandfather was named Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira, and his older brother, David.

Education

He studied in his family’s yeshiva, where the night was devoted to the study of Kabbalah and the day to the Talmud and the Shulchan Aruch.

In Israel

• 1951: he arrived in Israel and settled in Lod, trying to avoid public attention, but was soon recognized.
• He later moved to Baka, in Jerusalem.
• In the mid and late 1950s he returned to Morocco for a few years, on learning that Jewish spiritual life had declined, to guide the community.
• 1964: he returned to Israel and settled in Netivot, in the Negev, where visitors from many places came seeking blessings and advice.

He did not accept the post of chief rabbi of Lod, which was offered to him on his arrival, nor that of Chief Rabbi of Israel, proposed to him in 1953 after the death of Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Chai Uziel.

His death and the hilula

He is buried in Netivot. An attendance of about one hundred thousand people at his funeral is estimated, a figure that has not been verified. His grave is a place of pilgrimage, and thousands visit it on the anniversary of his passing, the hilula.

History and reputation

Much of what is told of him comes from devotional biographies and oral tradition. Accounts of that kind include his fame for working miracles through prayer, the secret fast at the age of twelve, or the way he was “discovered” in Lod and in Baka. No documents are cited that verify specific miracles.

Frequently asked questions

What does Baba Sali mean?

“The Praying Father,” in Moroccan Arabic.

Where is his grave?

In Netivot, in the south of Israel.

Who was his successor?

His son Rabbi Baruch Abuhatzeira, known as Baba Baruch, according to the source’s fact sheet.