A Miracle in Cairo: The Blind Rabbi Who Regained His Sight

The Great Synagogue of Cairo, 1615. Rabbi Chaim Kapusi feels his way toward the bimah. He is blind, and the journey takes time. The congregation notices that the elderly rabbinical judge wishes to speak, and gradually, the room grows quiet as people clear a path for him.

Rabbi Chaim appears deeply shaken. He lightly taps the bimah and begins to speak:

“I have heard people say that the reason my eyesight failed is that, when I served as a judge in Cairo, I allegedly accepted a bribe, and the Torah says, ‘A bribe blinds the eyes of the wise.’ I am not concerned for my own honor, but for the honor of Heaven. Is there anyone here from whom, or against whom, I took even a penny in bribery? If so, let him rise and speak. And if, Heaven forbid, I did this, here I will accept my punishment. But if I did not accept a bribe, I decree that my eyes be opened and that I see again, in order to put an end to this slander.”

When he finished speaking, silence fell over the synagogue. No one said a word.

Then, according to the account, Rabbi Chaim’s eyes opened. He began recognizing members of the congregation and calling them by name.

The Rabbi Known as a Miracle Worker

This remarkable story is recorded by the great scholar the Chida. He writes that he saw court documents bearing Rabbi Chaim’s signature from before the event, when the signature appeared to have been written by someone unable to see what he was writing. He also saw signatures from afterward, which appeared to have been written by someone who could see.

From then on, Rabbi Chaim reportedly signed his name with the words, “Hashem performed a miracle for Chaim Kapusi,” and he became widely known as Rabbi Chaim Kapusi, the Miracle Worker.

When Rabbi Yaakov Sapir visited Cairo’s cemetery in the 19th century, he found that Rabbi Chaim’s grave had become a pilgrimage site. He described the grave as being covered with oil brought by visitors, while people removed their shoes before approaching it. Sapir also heard that both Jews and non-Jewish locals regarded an oath sworn in Rabbi Chaim’s name as an especially serious matter. He recounts asking who was buried there and then being told the story of Rabbi Chaim’s blindness and recovery.

Rabbi Rafael Aharon Ben Shimon, who served as Egypt’s chief rabbi in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, also wrote about the grave’s prominence in his book Tov Mitzrayim. He described Rabbi Chaim’s tombstone as “well known and famous” and noted that people in distress would come there to pray.

Rabbi Ben Shimon strongly objected, however, to the custom of pouring large quantities of oil over the stones because it dirtied and damaged the tombstone. He worked to organize and maintain the site.

The synagogue named for Rabbi Chaim Kapusi still stands in Cairo’s old Jewish quarter.

A Young Torah Scholar in Egypt

By the end of the 16th century, Cairo had become one of the Jewish world’s important hubs, connecting North Africa, the Land of Israel, Syria, and Constantinople. Jews referred to the city as “Mitzrayim,” and responsa from the period also mention the Egyptian port cities of Alexandria, Damietta, and Rashid. Jews traveled between these communities for trade, loans, debt collection, and other business.

Rabbi Chaim Kapusi was born around 1540 in Algiers. His family descended from Jews exiled from Spain. By the age of 15, he was already in Egypt, where he had the privilege of studying with the holy Arizal, who was living there at the time. He also studied with Mahari Beirav in Safed.

Among the leading Torah scholars of his era in Egypt were Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi, author of Shitah Mekubetzet, and Maharikash.

A disagreement between Rabbi Bezalel and Rabbi Chaim arose while Rabbi Chaim was still a young scholar. An official employed by a tax collector had vowed that he would not eat meat or drink wine until he repaid his debts. He subsequently lost his wealth and was unable to pay.

The high rabbinical court in Egypt, headed by Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi, ruled that the man remained obligated to keep his vow. Rabbi Chaim Kapusi disagreed, ruling that this was a case of nederi onsin, a vow affected by circumstances beyond a person’s control.

Another case recorded in Rabbi Chaim’s responsa involved a Jew from Cairo who had lent both his own money and funds belonging to orphans for whom he served as guardian to a prominent man in Damietta. In order to collect the debt, he needed to move to Damietta and remain there.

He asked his wife to join him, but she refused. She argued that Cairo was a large city, while Damietta was a smaller place to which she did not wish to relocate.

Rabbi Chaim responded that a place should not be judged by its title but by its reality. A place where “everything is readily available,” he explained, could be considered a city. Damietta was connected to maritime trade and had a substantial Jewish community.

“Every Righteous Person Has His Own Light”

Rabbi Chaim’s book Be’ur HaChaim, containing sermons and explanations on the Torah, was printed in Jerusalem in 1929, nearly 300 years after his death.

The Chida also knew of a work by Rabbi Chaim called Sifrei Chaim, on the Sifrei and the Mechilta. His halachic responsa remained in manuscript form for centuries. The Chida saw some of them and quoted his teachings, and three responsa were printed at the beginning of the 20th century. It was only in 2011 that a broader collection was published, containing approximately 60 responsa as well as additional insights on the Talmud.

In one of his sermons, Rabbi Chaim explains why one Torah scholar can never completely replace another. At Sinai, he teaches, every soul received its own unique portion in Torah. Therefore, in his words:

“Every righteous person has his own light and sun.”

Rabbi Chaim Kapusi died in Cairo on the 12th of Shevat, 1631.