The Life & Times of Rav Chaim Filagi on His Yahrtzeit - י"ז שבט

recording in progress okay one last uh segment this shabas shabat is the yard side of one of the great luminaries of the Jewish people someone who in recent years I've uh become very enamored with Fi um a number of years ago I had this to go to his Kev in ismir in Turkey which I'm people ask me you know are you happy are you happy you went there I said now that I'm back I'm very happy that I went there um right now I would say I would not go again not in this climate I'm not sure if uh at the time I went it was it was scary for a number of reasons but I always had I always had a real desire to go to the big four I've been to many times in the saneda B I've been to the Benes K uh k um well actually he has two so the one on I was at the one in Baghdad I haven't made it to yet I was at the Kev of the of course many times in har I always wanted to go to fi and I was to go there a couple years ago and R fi is an amazing personality what really I'm enamored with is the breath of subjects that he writes about first of all he wrote 72 so I always like to say that his yard site always comes out the week of Paras because par has 72 the only thing is I thought it always worked out but this year everything is off you see even we had in the one of the great said Bish is always between not this year right but's yard side is always between just this year you know everything's Haywire but I think we could connect yard to this week also because we know that Hashem split the yam with the shame 72 you started writing at the age of 16 years old he lived from 18 from 1788 to 1858 so he lived 70 years and in the year 1841 most of his books that he wrote were were destroyed in a fire we're talking about manuscripts before they were published and a student of his risked his life to save 14 of them but he became depressed after that be and he was literally could not get out of bed and his son Ram fagi knew how prodigious his father's memory was he sat beside his father for a month and he reviewed to him a very big of his that were burnt and then it restored fi's health every timei put out a saer he made a suda and he made a Shu and when he was 80 years old so according to that he had to live till 1868 then he put out the saer which K is about how to prepare for your final journey and he says something uh really amazing actually I have over here a safer how's this could you read it I got a new um I got a new camera so it should be very sharp yeah I got a real I got the best camera for you guys not for me I don't need to see myself but I wanted everyone to see and soon you'll be able to read the even clearer because I'm getting a a better screen even I want everyone to see the tiny letters this is a say for but the thing is let me see if I could adjust the settings how's that that's better right yeah it's right um this is the ethical will ofi and he says something in on he says I call to testimony Heaven and Earth that from the day that my until I was 20 years old I was diligent in my learning day and night built without any distraction I did not get involved in any worldly P Pursuit and then from 20 until 40 I had to support my family I was an apat tropus I was involved in other uh secular Pursuits in terms of supporting my family but when I had a moment I did not turn to any levity or laughter orala but I was back to my learning from 40 and up and I I entered to be a Dian and a sh anded and to be involved with Sim until today I have a tremendous I don't have even a moment without distraction from balim from the from the seor and from other things and even though it seems like he gave over certain rabinal responsibilities to uh to other rabim who were appointed by the malus still it's still I um theil is tremendous he says it really pains me that I'm not able to learn T the way I would want to [Music] um he says what what consoles me is what the Kess writes Ina that he heard from his father that when he had a lot of things that he was busy with and he couldn't learn he would open one saer and he would read one line or two lines just so you see if someone is your P from Tamra then he says there is no jush or or that I wrote he says that Hashem wasak to write many many all of theim that I wrote he says was with tremendous pressure and tremendous hardship and tremendous responsib responsibility and he says if you have a question on what I wrote I did not have I did not have Yad he says even for one day and one night even on shabas and yam everything I wrote was all he says anything I wrote was above and beyond nature it's not humanly possible says if you think you're surprised at what I did even I can't believe I did it it doesn't make sense I was able to do it and he says like this something uh very poignant if a man or a woman would come to me and sometimes people come and they pour out their heart and only God knows that I'm sitting there listening but I'm in tremendous pain that they're they're robbing me of my time but I never rush them and I never say okay I understand what's bothering you you know please uh I got I get it I have things to do no I never did that I was afraid Saidi that it would be embarrassing to them and I'm not being with the and we hold you hear this the my cordiality to the people is more important than even though say one of the is that's if you're M inat your ownat what you need for your own personal Comfort but not if it affects other people wow that's uh that's very powerful by the way RAB fi writes the way um [Music] um he says this is also very powerful he says why am I telling this to you you know why does everybody know why does everybody need to know about my personal uh Behavior [Music] um he says the reason why I'm telling it to youu everyone should learn from this that if you have uh if you're busy you're preoccupied you have a lot of things V vying for your attention don't say okay you know I'll I'll involve myself in learning and in Ras later when I have more time on my hands no at the time that you're busiest that's the time you should involve yourself in Ras don't say yeah I'll have time later I'll get it later no Now's the Time because even I can't understand how was able to accomplish all these things when I was at my busiest um times in my life okay it's interesting that fi's son writes that his Hana with his family members was unparalleled he was never mock bit on anything in the house he always was MAF every all the household members even little children each one he gave what they needed what they are missing sometimes he gave one child like a little extra in private not to arouse jealousy and uh he never was mid from the the children the children screaming or or their or their he would call each child every morning that they should say the for him and they would say all for him and with great he was and he was and one of the things that he emphasized to his children um very much is they should never mock anyone they should not insult anyone and they should be careful with their time he records in the safer that he once had a dream of uh one of the members of ismir one of the one of the uh one of the uh residents of his community um appeared to him in a dream and one of the residents of his community appeared to him in a dream and he was in a very good place in Andi says you know I had you get there what do you do to deserve that and he said I was always careful to be my workers and I didn't stress them out too much and I did not subjugate them cruy and with a the last T of his life when they read in the Torah he broke out crying when they got to the a few days before his P he called the rash and he uh set forth before them his Sav that they should read at his in the morning on the 17th ofat T 1868 he got up in the morning he DAV with a minion he gave his he asked for a cup of milk he washed his hands he made a shahak he leaned his head on his right hand and with a smile on his face he returned his soul I wish you all a recording stop Cult of everyone