Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <Yigal.Levin AT biu.ac.il>]

I often ask myself if Sir Isaac is serious in his musings, or if he's just 
having fun. Baba Sali is not a biblical term. It is the nickname of the late 
Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzera (1890–1984), who was a leading kabbalist (and 
reportedly a miracle-worker) who lived in the southern Israeli town of 
Netivot. The "Sali" is short for "Yisrael", and the Baba is a term of respect 
and endearment, like "papa". Had he lived in New York he might have been 
called "Papa Izzy". Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Sali 

The word that Isaac misquotes from Dan. 6:11 is Aramic, not Hebrew.

Yigal Levin

-----Original Message-----
From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org 
[mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Isaac Fried
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 5:48 AM
To: B-Hebrew list
Cc: B-Hebrew list
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] baal

Babalu = Babaalu? Possibly related to Baba Sali, where Sali is שאלי  $AALI, 
'asking', or צלאי Calaai, 'praying', as in Dan.  
6:11.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Aug 7, 2012, at 10:19 PM, Barry wrote:

> the song (Babalu) is a tribute to an
> Afro-Cuban deity.

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