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Selestria - The well-known Jerusalem kabbalist, HaRav Binyamin Batzri, and Rav Rafael Pinchasi, who formerly served as Israel's minister of communications, deputy mayor of Bnei Brak and secretary of Shas’s Counsel of Torah Sages, were part of a group that traveled to Selestria, Bulgaria to pray at the gravesite of HaRav Eliezer Yitzchak Papo, zechuso yogen oleinu, better known as the Pele Yoetz.

The Pele Yoetz wrote dozens of books on all areas of Torah and halacha, gaining widespread renown to this day for his work Pele Yoetz, which lists practical advice on a broad range of topics.

As the rav of Selestria he stressed the need for sincere piety, saying Jews should devote themselves to mitzvahs without worrying too much about earning a livelihood or the problems of This World, instead realizing that one’s level of success is determined by Hashem. He demanded total allegiance to rabbinic tradition and preferred the traditionalism of Moslem lands to the modernity of Europe.

A few days before he passed away in 1828 a plague ravaged Bulgaria, striking down hundreds of Jews in the country. Gathering together the Jews of the town, the Pele Yoetz told them the disease would not halt unless he was willing to pay with his life. The very next day he passed away and the plague stopped.

In the last book he authored before his death HaRav Papo wrote that whoever came to pray at his gravesite after immersing himself in a mikvah would be granted Divine assistance and compassion, and all his wishes would come to fruition.

A mikvah was built near his gravesite and in recent years Jews from all parts of Europe have traveled to the gravesite to pray.

HaRav Batzri and Rav Rafael Pinchasi, who were already in Europe, embarked on a long journey to the gravesite outside Selestria near the banks of the Danube River. Along with the other members of their group, they immersed themselves in the mikvah and prayed for the individual and collective needs of Klal Yisroel.

Rav Batzri heads Beit Yosef, a Torah center in Be’er Sheva founded in response to the surge in tshuvoh that came to southern Israel. After years of hard work it now brings together young men and old, women and children, to take part in a variety of Torah, tefilah and chessed activities.

Rav Batzri is a descendent of the Ben Ish Chai as well as Rav Yehuda Patiya, zechuso yogen oleinu. He studied at Yeshivas Kol Torah and Yeshivas Zohar HaTorah.