ר׳ ישראל אבוחצירא

ר׳ ישראל אבוחצירא (1889–1984), universally known as the בבא סאלי, was a Moroccan-Israeli rabbi, kabbalist and communal leader of the Abuhatzeira dynasty. Born in Rissani, he studied in the family yeshiva and was deeply affected by the 1920 martyrdom of his brother ר׳ דוד אבוחצירא. He served the communities of southeastern Morocco, especially Boudenib and Erfoud, as teacher, judge and chief rabbinic authority. After an initial immigration to Israel in 1951 and a return to Morocco, he settled permanently in Israel in 1964, living in Yavne and Ashkelon before Netivot. His reputation rests primarily on lived piety, prayer, oral teaching and communal memory rather than on a securely established corpus of authored books. His tomb in Netivot became a major pilgrimage site.