"Like the Sun Setting in Midday"

"Like the Sun Setting in Midday"

...So said Rav Ovadia Yosef in his Hesped of Baba Elazar ZT"L.

I will add that his holy words may have a double connotation. והמבין יבין.

In his own hesped, his uncle, Baba Baruch, said:

“Harsh punishments were decreed on the people of Israel, and he wanted to nullify them,” said the slain rabbi's brother, Rabbi Baruch Abuhatzeira, also known as the Baba Baruch, speaking at Rabbi Abuhatzeira's funeral.

He added, “As he nullified many harsh decrees for us...We ask you, Rabbi Elazar: go before the Throne of Glory and pray there for the people of Israel. Pray for the entire family. Pray for your sons, your daughters, your grandchildren and wife,” Rabbi Baruch continued. He said, “There is much to say, but the mind is confused.”

Rabbi Shlomo Amar, the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel, made similar comments to Arutz Sheva on Friday.

“Who knows what kind of decree G-d's people was under? And [Rabbi Abuhatzeira] was strong for us, and he bore the atonement for our generation,” Rabbi Amar said.

See this post to show this concept further.

An interesting observation was made by the gematriot blog, in that in the Kletzky murder, the victim and murderer both had the same first and last letter in their first names. Also, in this murder, the victim and murderer both had the same first and last letter in their first names.

לוי לייבי
אלעזר אשר

Both Ladaat and Kikar quote Baba Elazar's nephew, יבלחט"ו Rav Yoshiahu Pinto, as saying that Baba Elazar gave him his father's watch on Erev Rosh Hashana last year. When Rav Pinto asked why he didn't want to keep it, he said that he didn't need it so much longer - "How much do I have left to live? A year?"

See also the previous post, VIN, and parshablog's speculation about the murderer's MBY reference.