Yohrtzeit tonight of a big Mekubal

Besiyata Dishmaya

Sat, Feb 06 2010, 11:51 am

Tonight, Motzei Shabbos - Sunday, 23 Shvat, is the yohrtzeit of the Mekubal Rav Yaakov Chaim Yisroel Alfiyah ben Sarah. (The Sephardim say l’iluy nishmas the mother’s name. His father was Yitzchok Yeshaya.)

He promised that he will intercede in Heaven on behalf of anyone who lights a candle le'ilu nishmoso, says "Posach Eliyahu", and asks for 1 (one) request.

Last edited by Besiyata Dishmaya on Thu, Jan 27 2011, 9:17 am; edited 1 time in total

crush

Fri, Jan 28 2011, 12:11 am

Besiyata Dishmaya wrote:

It's probably too late now to ask questions, as you're probably sleeping, but anyone else? Is Posach Eliyahu a quote, to be said as those 2 words? Or is that a certain tefilla? Also, how long should the candle be lit? Because I want to go to sleep soon and am wondering if I can extinguish the flame before, because I'm always scared to leave a flame overnight.

Besiyata Dishmaya

Fri, Jan 28 2011, 3:25 am

ChossidMom wrote:

My husband is a big yahrzeit person. He never heard of this one. Who is he? Is there a source of this somewhere?
Thanks

I only heard about him last year but I don't know the source for this. Maybe his promise is mentioned in his sefer Rei’ach LeYitzchok, don’t know. He was from the Sephardic Gedolim and was niftar in the year 5676 (1915-1916).

הרה"ק ר' יעקב חיים ישראל רפאל ב"ר יצחק ישעי' אלפיה זצ"ל

crush wrote:

I'm sorry, I should have started a new thread instead of recycling the old one. 23 Sh'vat is TODAY, FRIDAY. Last year it was on Sunday. So if you want to light a candle, you need to do it today. You don't necessarily have to light a 24 hour candle for a yohrtzeit, unless it's for a parent (and even then, I believe you can light a regular tea light candle that burns for 2-4 hours).

Unlike a Chanukah candle, I would not extinguish a yohrtzeit candle which is lit for the neshomo of someone. It’s like cutting of someone’s life. נר ה' נשמת אדם The neshomos in heaven have a tremendous hano’eh (appreciation) if someone from this world remembers them and lights a candle for them. Many neshomos would be very makir tovah if you do so.

Neshomos come to this world (to their kever) the day of their yohrtzeit. That’s why the day of the yohrtzeit is an auspicious time to pray on their behalf.

Posach Eliyohu is not mamish a tefillah but from the Tekunei Zohar which is being said (similar to Kegavno that chassidim say Friday night or like Brich Shemei that's said when taking out a Sefer Torah).
Posach Eliyohu is said by many before davening (Shachris, Mincha...) as a segulah that our tefillos should be accepted.

This piece of Zohar can be found in the front of the siddur before Shachris in many siddurim, like in ArtScroll’s Siddur and R’ Yaakov Emden Siddur.

shalhevet wrote:

ChossidMom wrote:

Besiyata Dishmaya is not sleeping now as she lives in Israel.

Maybe she's having a long lie in. LOL

(Yeh, on a Friday....)

Sure, on Friday no less.

A PM would have notified me to come and answer some questions.

freidasima

Fri, Jan 28 2011, 4:19 am

Poseach Eliyahu is about two pages long, it's mostly in Aramaic and for those of us who aren't exactly fluent in the language, as BSD said, it's a zoharic composition that is said before tefilos with Vayehi Noam said before it and it is that our tefilos should be accepted but with all sorts of kabbalistic connotations that someone who is not boki in kabbolo doesn't necessarily get to the root of understanding.

I assume that the mekubal z"l who wanted it to be said, wanted it to be said by someone who understood what was being said...I said it last night, but truthfully understood the words but not the deeper meaning. My father z"l would have said to me that if you don't understand the kavvono then at least have kavvono to have the kavvono of the mechaber.

Besiyata Dishmaya

Fri, Jan 28 2011, 5:11 am

freidasima wrote:

Don't make it so black. Smile

In the two siddurim I mentioned above it's one page with normal size lettering like many other tefillos in that siddur. It won't take more than 5 minutes to say it even for those who have a hard time saying Aramaic words.

I didn't know you say Vihi Noam before that. I wonder if everyone does. My husband is not home now to ask.

The reason the Mekubal wanted it to be said was simply because this tefillah is a segulah in general to say before davening for our tefillos to be accepted.

My policy, as I said in another thread, is that I do my part and daven with as much kavoneh as possible. If I don't understand what I say, the Rebono Shel Olam, to Whom we pray and is a yodei'a machshovos, knows what's in a person's heart, will already understand. Like a little baby who babbles away and doesn't know how to talk, the mother of the child, though, understands.

May the Rebono Shel Olam accept all our tefillos berachmim uverotzon.

Besiyata Dishmaya

Sat, Jan 29 2011, 3:29 pm

ChossidMom wrote:

I was going to light my candle but when my son found me the Posach Eliyahu and I saw how long it was (in Aramaic, no less) I decided to forgo the whole thing. Too long for me on a Friday!

Oy chaval. You could've lit the yohrtzeit candle right before lighting your Shabbos candles and say the Posach Eliyohu after licht tzinden which is usually between 15-40 min. before the shkiah (depending on the city). You'd have had enough time to say it until maariv.

ChossidMom

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 5:39 am

Besiyata Dishmaya wrote:

ChossidMom wrote:

I was going to light my candle but when my son found me the Posach Eliyahu and I saw how long it was (in Aramaic, no less) I decided to forgo the whole thing. Too long for me on a Friday!

Frankly, Shabbos was my Daddy's first yahrzeit and I spent whatever time I had davening l'ilui nishmaso.

Besiyata Dishmaya

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 1:34 pm

ChossidMom wrote:

Besiyata Dishmaya wrote:

ChossidMom wrote:

I was going to light my candle but when my son found me the Posach Eliyahu and I saw how long it was (in Aramaic, no less) I decided to forgo the whole thing. Too long for me on a Friday!

Frankly, Shabbos was my Daddy's first yahrzeit and I spent whatever time I had davening l'ilui nishmaso.

You couldn't have done better. Besides, you fulfilled the mitzvah of Kibbud Av. Your father will surely be me'orer our Father in Heaven to bestow upon you and your entire family yeshuo'os and refu'os.