{"id":5241,"date":"2013-02-11T09:56:50","date_gmt":"2013-02-11T15:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=5241"},"modified":"2013-02-11T09:56:50","modified_gmt":"2013-02-11T15:56:50","slug":"blowing-1000-shofars-in-hopes-of-a-mate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/blowing-1000-shofars-in-hopes-of-a-mate\/","title":{"rendered":"Blowing 1000 shofars in hopes of a mate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By BEN SALES<\/p>\n<p>AMUKAH, Israel (JTA) &#8212; They walked up a tree-lined path through stony hills to a square, white building &#8212; men in black hats, beards and frock coats; in T-shirts and jeans; in sweaters, slacks and velvet kippahs. They came by the hundreds &#8212; 19-year-olds looking for a match, 40-year-olds losing hope that they would ever find one, boys of 15 praying for the unmarried.<\/p>\n<p>They had come for a special ceremony: They would blow 1,000 shofars, encircle the building seven times and recite penitential prayers led by a master of Jewish mysticism. They would scream and they would sing.<\/p>\n<p>They had come to harness the power of a dead rabbi, Yonatan ben Uziel, a man they believed would intercede on their behalf in heaven, granting any Jew a match within the year &#8212; as long as they prayed at his tomb or paid a fee.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5277\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-4-Men-Blowing.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5277\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5277 lazyload\" title=\"Shofars 4 - Men Blowing\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-4-Men-Blowing-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-4-Men-Blowing-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-4-Men-Blowing-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5277\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5277 \" title=\"Shofars 4 - Men Blowing\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-4-Men-Blowing-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-4-Men-Blowing-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-4-Men-Blowing-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5277\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Men blowing shofars to help the unmarried find matches at the ceremony at the grave of Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel in a forest near Safed, Jan. 27, 2013. (Ben Sales\/JTA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis is the bringing-together of all the strengths in the world,\u201d said Meir Levy, a 40-year-old bachelor who had come to join the prayer service on Jan. 27. \u201cThis is a very holy place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A man in a light blue robe, red velvet hat and paisley sash approached the building\u2019s courtyard. Volunteers distributed standard-issue shofars to anyone who thought he could blow. The cardboard boxes full of rams\u2019 horns emptied as the men stood at the ready, waiting for the robed man &#8212; the kabbalah master Rabbi Yechiel Abuchatzeira &#8212; to begin the prayers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Abuchatzeira family is a family with many miracles,\u201d said Eliyahu Hazan, 32, as he waited for the rabbi. \u201cTheir reputation speaks for itself. Everyone who goes to them gets results.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Holding a microphone against his white beard, Abuchatzeira chanted, \u201cPrayer, repentance and charity push away the harsh decree!\u201d and waited as the hundreds of men repeated the words taken from the High Holy Days liturgy.<\/p>\n<p>The scion of a family of famous Moroccan kabbalists, Abuchatzeira is the head of the Salvation in the Depths Foundation, which runs a yeshiva located in nearby Safed. The ceremony helps raise money for the yeshiva, and a man who answered the phone there recently explained the pricing structure: $36 per month for 18 months to have prayers recited at the tomb on someone&#8217;s behalf.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the students there wake up daily at 4 a.m. to study Torah in Yonatan ben Uziel&#8217;s merit. Every Friday afternoon, they walk up the barely paved road through the forest to Amukah to welcome Shabbat with a service at the rabbi\u2019s tomb. In return, they hope, he will intercede with God.<\/p>\n<p>But the ceremony on this Sunday afternoon was no ordinary service. It was, in the words of a website dedicated to the event, a \u201crare and unique\u201d occasion in which the kabbalah masters would perform an \u201cextraordinary corrective measure [to open] all the seven spiritual gates that block your luck and enable you to find your soul mate and get married THIS YEAR!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnswer us, shield of David,\u201d sang Abuchatzeira into the microphone, using a phrase usually reserved for the penitential prayers recited in the weeks leading up to Yom Kippur. \u201cAnswer us, He who answers at a time of mercy. Answer us, God of the chariot. Answer us, Yonatan ben Uziel.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5278\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-3-Yechiel-Abuchatzeira.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5278\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5278 lazyload\" title=\"Shofars 3 - Yechiel Abuchatzeira\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-3-Yechiel-Abuchatzeira-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-3-Yechiel-Abuchatzeira-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-3-Yechiel-Abuchatzeira-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5278\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5278 \" title=\"Shofars 3 - Yechiel Abuchatzeira\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-3-Yechiel-Abuchatzeira-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-3-Yechiel-Abuchatzeira-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-3-Yechiel-Abuchatzeira-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5278\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rabbi Yechiel Abuchatzeira, master of Jewish mysticism, leading the ceremony at the grave of Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel in a forest near Safed, Jan. 27, 2013. (Ben Sales\/JTA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The men holding the shofars repeated every line, following the rabbi as he walked in a circle through the tomb. Together they chanted the 13 attributes of God\u2019s mercy. Then, on command, they raised their shofars and blew. It was a dissonant sound, the noise of hundreds of untrained shofar blowers. Some blew in staccato, others held the final note until they lost their breath. To the side, young boys in black hats, bused in from Safed, smirked at the proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>They repeated the ceremony six more times, then moved on to prayers specifically directed toward finding a match. These prayers of the \u201cbrokenhearted\u201d asked for \u201ca sensible match able to give birth,\u201d for a \u201cwoman of valor, fearing God, possessing intelligence, with good values and good deeds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following the recitation of the Mourner&#8217;s Kaddish, the ceremony ended.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not that you understand what\u2019s happening, but it\u2019s the fact that you\u2019re participating, that you&#8217;re ready to take part and do the right thing,\u201d said Andre Levy, an anthropologist at Ben-Gurion University and an expert on the tradition of praying at the graves of the righteous. \u201cIn this model, you&#8217;re not supposed to understand. Your participation will make everything be accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5279\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-2-boy-blowing.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5279\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5279 lazyload\" title=\"Shofars 2 - boy blowing\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-2-boy-blowing-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-2-boy-blowing-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-2-boy-blowing-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5279\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5279 \" title=\"Shofars 2 - boy blowing\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-2-boy-blowing-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-2-boy-blowing-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Shofars-2-boy-blowing-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5279\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A boy blowing a shofar at the ceremony at the grave of Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel in a forest near Safed, Jan. 27, 2013. (Ben Sales\/JTA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Cryptic ceremonies like these are especially appropriate at the graves of rabbis, Levy said, because the souls of the rabbis help transmit the worshipers\u2019 requests to God.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Judaism and Islam, there\u2019s no mediator between you and God,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are totally exposed to God, which is a difficult thought, and you need a go-between. People find solutions in the character of a righteous person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Levy said that despite their financial gain, rabbis like Abuchatzeira generally have genuine faith in their religious acts. But for singles like Hazan, there is added reason to believe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to build a home in Israel,\u201d Hazan said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Blowing%201000%20shofars%20in%20hopes%20of%20a%20mate\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[8781,8790,8795,8788,1945,1944],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5241"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5281,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241\/revisions\/5281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}