448 Years Since the Passing of Maran

Today, the 13th of Nissan, is the yahrtzeit (hilula) of Maran, author of the Shulchan Aruch and the Beis Yosef—Rabbeinu Yosef son of Rabbi Ephraim zy"a.

Presented here is a prayer written by the holy Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a to say at his grave in the ancient cemetery in Tzfas:

Master of the World, Almighty, in the merit that Rabbi Yosef Karo would complete, each and every day, eighteen chapters of Mishnayos, he merited a revelation of the Maggid. Please, Hashem, grant me the merit to see a Maggid like the Maggid of Rabbi Yosef Karo—who had a Maggid from Heaven that revealed to him, almost day by day, all the secrets of the Torah. And in this merit he composed the Beis Yosef, a work that no person on earth is able to compose.

Please, Hashem, grant me as well the merit to compose a work like the Beis Yosef—on the entire Shas and on the entire Rambam, Tur, and Shulchan Aruch. And may I merit to summarize all the Rishonim and the Acharonim in a clear, convincing, and concise summary, as it is written: “A person should always teach his student in a brief way.”

Please, Hashem, grant me the merit, through my learning of the Beis Yosef, that the verses be fulfilled in me: “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the inner chambers of your home; your children like olive saplings around your table. Behold, so shall a man who fears Hashem be blessed. Hashem will bless you from Zion; see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life; and see children to your children—peace upon Israel” (Tehillim 128:3–6). And may I merit, through the merit of learning the Beis Yosef, an abundance of sons and daughters—one hundred thousand grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. And may I merit to live like Iyov—two hundred and ten years—which is ten times the Name Ehyeh = 21 × 10 = 210. And through this, may the oath be fulfilled in me, as it is said: “Hashem swore to David in truth; He will not turn back from it: ‘From the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne. If your children keep My covenant and My testimony that I will teach them, then their children too, forever, shall sit upon your throne.’ For Hashem has chosen Zion; He desired it for His dwelling” (ibid. 132:11–13)—for Zion is the Holy of Holies, the Kesser of Adam Kadmon: “This is My resting place forever” (ibid.).