It Runs in the Family
Aharon Rubin
A mystical remedy handed down from father to son and from rebbi to talmid could be found in the tiny living room on Rechov Elkanah in Jerusalem, as the youngest son of Rav Aryeh Levin was privy to the cure sought by both simple Jews and great Torah scholars. A month after the passing of Rav Simcha Shlomo Levin, his family reveals what they know of the ancient traditions and how he mastered them.
Monday, December 22, 2014

Not many people outside his immediate circle had ever heard of Rav Simcha Shlomo Levin
ztz”l, but the large human mosaic that made up his funeral procession a month ago this week was a testimony to his wealth of mystical knowledge — learned from his illustrious forebears — which enabled him to ward off an
ayin hara for afflicted people, give potent blessings that were duly fulfilled, present powerful amulets, and reveal hidden information through the esoteric
goral haGra.Although Rav Simcha Shlomo — the
ben zekunim of the Tzaddik of Jerusalem, Rav Aryeh Levin
ztz”l — might not have been a household name,
gedolei Yisrael alongside menial laborers, Ashkenazim together with Sephardim, black yarmulkes shoulder to shoulder with knitted
kippot and cardboard skullcaps, understood the magnitude of loss for a world groping in the dark.While RavSimchaShlomoshunned honor or recognition during his life, after his
petirah his family members have begun to reveal some of his secrets. His nephew Rabbi Benji Levene told how he was with him on many occasions when he performed the “
lachash” (incantation) to remove an
ayin hara; and his son-in-lawRavYitzchakRappaport and grandsonRavShmuelShulman opened a fascinating window into the personal history of this Jerusalem rabbi.
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