The Tana Rabbi Yosef Benaah (זיע״א) also called “The White Righteous One” or “The White Ari”) was known in his generation as one of the greatest scholars of the secrets of the Creation of the world. Even Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess and the sages of his time would bring questions to him on these matters. [1]
His tomb is located in the Old City of Tzfat (Safed), near the ancient cemetery, inside the ancient synagogue that bears his name, “Singoga Rabbi Yosef Benaah.” [2]
At the feet of Rabbi Yosef Benaah, the Sefer Torah in which he used to study was also buried. [3] Some claim (based on the descriptions of the Arizal[4]) that the Tana Rabbi Shimon ben Chalaftha was also buried there. [5]
During the time of Rabbi Yosef Saragossi ZT”L (chief rabbi of Tzfat before the period of the Arizal, and who appears to have been the rabbi of the synagogue over the tomb of Rabbi Yosef Benaah[6]), there was a decree against the inhabitants of the city. The rabbi prayed over the tomb of the holy Tana, and evident miracles occurred, where chickens of all colors turned white (due to this episode, the Tana Rabbi Yosef Benaah, as well as Rabbi Yosef Saragossi himself, came to be called “the white Tzaddik”)[7].
The tomb of the Tana was very beloved by the residents of ancient Tzfat, who held prayer vigils there day and night[8]. It is also recorded in letters from students of the Or HaChaim Hakadosh that the Rabbi (Or HaChaim), along with his disciples, studied and prayed at the tomb of Rabbi Yosef Benaah[9].
Gaon Rabbi Avraham Chaim Addadi ZT”L (author of Shu”t Vayikra Avraham, one of the greats of Tzfat in the 18th century) testified about himself that he became deeply attached to this tomb, saying:
“Rabbi Yosef Benaah is always before me; there are my heart and my eyes.” [10]
The Kabbalist Rabbi Yosef Yehuda Hakim ZT”L (a great rabbi of Turkey after Rabbi Avraham Falaji ZT”L) even remained in spiritual retreat, in complete isolation, for seven full years at the tomb of this Tana. [11]
Throughout the generations, great sages would often visit this tomb. Among them: the holy “Saba Kadisha” Rabbi Shlomo Eliezer Alfandari ZT”L (who established his place of study there), Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka ZT”L, Rabbi Ben Tzion Abba Shaul ZT”L, Rabbi Salman Mutzafi ZT”L, and many others. [12]
The sage Chacham Menachem Menashé ZT”L (author of Ahavat Chaim, considered the head of the “36 Hidden Righteous” of the previous generation) used to say that this tomb is extraordinarily propitious for the acceptance of prayers. [13]
There are also testimonies that the tomb has a particular power to bring healing in cases of psychological and mental disorders. [14]
It is important to mention that there was also an Emorah named Rabbi Benaah, mentioned in the Talmud as the one who marked the tombs and even entered the Cave of the Patriarchs. [15] He is buried on the road to Meron, near Elkanah, the father of Shmuel. [16] Rabbi Yosef Benaah, buried in Tzfat, belonged to a much earlier era, belonging to the fourth generation of the Tannaites.
The Historic Synagogue Over His Tomb
As mentioned, a synagogue was built on the tomb of Tana Rabbi Yosef Benaah ZT”L, considered one of the oldest in the Holy City of Tzfat, and perhaps even the oldest. The synagogue was built in the 15th century by Jews from Spain (even before the Expulsion), who came from the region of Aragon (Aragón).[17] Some say that the side room where the tomb is located was built during the time of the Tanaites themselves.[18]
There is a tradition that the renewal of the semicha (the restoration of the rabbinic ordination of the Sanhedrin, interrupted for centuries) also took place in this sacred synagogue, when Mahari Beirav ZT”L conferred semicha upon his disciple, Maran o Beit Yosef, precisely at this location.[19] Tradition has been passed down to this day that points to the place where Maran o Beit Yosef used to sit within this synagogue.[20] The Gaon Tzadik Rabbi Ben Tzion Abba Shaul ZT”L, when praying in this synagogue, used to walk back and forth near the Aron Hakodesh, saying: “Such holiness, such holiness!” while making signs with his hands as if he were trying to capture the holiness of the air and absorb it within himself. [21] The books of Acharonim also state that this synagogue is considered “very holy, of tremendous holiness.” [22]
Inside the synagogue (currently located below Eliyahu HaNavi’s chair) there is a water fountain, and there is a tradition that the Tana used to immerse himself there. [23] Its waters are considered very propitious for the blessing of barren women. [24] Given the exact location of this fountain, it is assumed that it is the spring that also feeds the Mikveh of the Arizal (located a few meters below, on the hillside, in an almost direct line).
[Some Kabbalists write that there is a spiritual connection between the Arizal and Rabbi Yosef Benaah, both linked to the soul aspect of Mashiach ben Yosef. Therefore, the Arizal was buried near Rabbi Yosef Benaah.[25] And perhaps this also explains why, in the past, many called Tana Rabbi Yosef Benaah “The White Ari.”]
In the Heichal of this synagogue is the “Abou” family Sefer Torah, considered one of the oldest in the world. Every year, on Lag BaOmer, this Sefer Torah is carried at the head of the procession of the inhabitants of Tzfat as they ascend to Meron. This procession has been carried continuously since 1833, and the tradition has been maintained even during difficult times—during pogroms, during the years of the Covid pandemic, and even in times of war—and on some occasions, special authorization has been required.
When the Sefer Torah arrives at Meron, It is placed in the Aron Hakodesh of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s tomb and remains there until the end of the Lag B’Omer celebrations, and sometimes until Shavuot. Over the generations, the arrival of this Sefer Torah was considered a necessary condition for the official lighting of the central fire in Meron. [26]
In the synagogue courtyard grows an ancient fig tree, about which accounts of miracles have also been handed down. [27]
In the month of Elul 5785, with the help of Hashem, a branch of the renowned Jerusalem Kollel “Bircat Avraham” was inaugurated in the synagogue built over the tomb of the holy Tanna Rabbi Yossef Banaah. However, already at the beginning of Cheshvan 5786, due to technical reasons, this Safed branch was transferred to the synagogue located two meters from the tomb of Rabbi Nachum Ish Gamzu.
Plan of the synagogue over the tomb of Rabbi Yosef Benaah ZT”L, taken from the book “Batei Knessiot BeEretz Yisrael,” 5706 (1946), p. 41
Rabbi Yosef Benaah’s Day of Hilulah
There is no precise information about the date of Tanna Rabbi Yosef Benaah’s Hilulah, but there is evidence that there was a popular custom of visiting his tomb on the first day of Passover. [28] Some claim that this was a scribal error and that the correct reference is to the first day of Chol HaMoed Pesach[29]; and thus it became the current custom to perform the hilulah on the 16th of Nissan[30].
Others write that the inhabitants of Tzfat customarily visited the tomb on the Isru Chag of Pesach[31], which seems more consistent according to Kabbalistic secrets.
There are also those who maintain that the entire month of Nissan is considered a particularly propitious time to visit the tomb of Rabbi Yosef Benaah[32].
How to get to the synagogue (and tomb) of Tzadik Rabbi Yosef Benaah
The tomb of the holy Tana Rabbi Yosef Benaah is generally not open to the public, except on special occasions and during the opening hours of the Kollel Ohel Shlomo of the Birkat Avraham institution.
The site is located between small alleys on a steep slope, making it inaccessible by car. The most convenient way to get there is by parking on HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu Street, from where you can walk for about 200 meters and then turn right.