jerusalem | An estimated 200,000 people filled the streets of Jerusalem Sunday, Jan. 29, for the funeral of Rabbi Yitzhak Kadouri, a revered mystic who cursed Saddam Hussein, criticized Madonna and influenced Israeli elections. He was believed to be about 106.
Kadouri, a leader of the Kabbalah school of Jewish mystical thought, died Saturday, Jan. 28 of complications from pneumonia after his liver failed during an operation. Even at his advanced age, Kadouri was sought out for blessings by believers suffering from illnesses or seeking heavenly favors.
Israel’s president and chief rabbis eulogized Kadouri at a rabbinical seminary before a huge funeral procession snaked through Jerusalem to the cemetery at the outskirts of the city.
“Thousands and thousands of people have benefited from his blessings — cancer patients, heart patients, couples without children,” said Moshe Nimni, his chief aide.
People seeking blessings would crowd his house and sometimes line up outside, waiting for an unintelligible incantation.
For the last decade, the frail, thin kabbalist with the wispy white beard and trademark cylindrical headgear did not speak loudly enough to be heard. His pronouncements were relayed by his sons, who would lean down and place their ears close to his lips.
Despite his great prestige, Kadouri retained his modest lifestyle to the end of his days: The only sign of an upscale move was his switch in the past few years from Israeli-made Noblesse cigarettes to Marlboro Lights.
His appeal was mostly among Jews of Middle Eastern origin. A reported word from the venerated rabbi could move political mountains.
In 2000, a little-known parliamentary backbencher named Moshe Katsav ran for Israeli president against the world-renowned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres. Katsav won a shocking victory after Kadouri said he had a “vision” that Katsav was favored by the heavens — and all 17 members of Shas, an Orthodox Jewish party, voted for Katsav, now Israel’s president.
Kadouri took on world figures as well. In 1998, he pronounced a curse on Saddam Hussein, willing him to be outsed from power. “Let fear fall upon [the Iraqis],” he said, after Saddam threatened Israel. “Let the curse be transferred to them.”
Pop star Madonna did not escape his critical gaze, either. One of the most prominent of the glitterati who have taken up Kabbalah, Madonna made a high-energy trip to Israel in 2004, including a midnight visit to the grave of a sage.
Kadouri was not moved. “It is forbidden to teach Kabbalah to a non-Jew,” he said, dismissing the new movement.
It often appeared that his age alone was a magnet of attraction and reverence. Ben Haim calculated Kadouri was 106, Israel Radio reported his age as 108, and Nimni, his aide, said he was “at least 112 or 113.”