Full Sponsorship for prayer trek to Rabbi Pinchas of Kfar Baram and his son Nachman Chatufa. 
 
A Portrait of Radical Piety, Miracles, and Spiritual Ascent
Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair, a fourth-generation Tanna of the late 2nd century CE, is remembered in rabbinic literature as a model of uncompromising piety. Living likely in Lod, and serving as the father-in-law of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi), he is revered more for his holiness than even for his vast scholarship.
Extraordinary Integrity
Numerous Talmudic accounts highlight his ethical exactness:
The Wheat Deposit: When two men entrusted him with two se’ah of wheat and failed to return for years, Rabbi Pinchas sowed the grain annually, preserving and multiplying it. Seven years later he returned the entire accumulated harvest to its owners.
Refusal to Eat at Others’ Tables: Having reached adulthood, he would not eat meals outside his own home. Some hosts, he explained, feel pressured to give beyond their means, while others have means but lack generosity. He chose not to benefit from either discomfort or unwillingness.
When Rabbi Judah haNasi invited him, Rabbi Pinchas accepted—until he noticed onagers in the courtyard, whose use in that locale was considered unsafe. Unwilling to benefit from anything questionable, he turned back without entering.
The Donkey That Would Not Eat Untithed Grain: The most famous story describes thieves who stole Rabbi Pinchas’s donkey. The animal refused to eat fodder from which ma’aser had not been taken, forcing the thieves to return it. Even his donkey absorbed his spiritual discipline.
Miraculous Powers
Many miracles are attributed to him, demonstrating the Talmudic idea that the righteous become a “chariot of God,” aligned so wholly with the Divine will that the natural world yields to them.
The Parting of the Ginai River: On his way to redeem captives, Rabbi Pinchas reached the Ginai River and commanded it to split. When the river protested—arguing that it reliably fulfills its divine purpose while he might fail his mission—Rabbi Pinchas replied that failure was not an option; if necessary, he would decree that the river cease flowing. The river parted.
Mastery Over Nature: He caused barley to ripen instantly for his donkey and made fire cross a river to prepare food. These events illustrate the principle that complete spiritual refinement allows the righteous to act as pure conduits of God’s will.
The Ladder of Spiritual Ascent
Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair’s most influential teaching is his “ladder of virtues,” a step-by-step path of spiritual development:
“Torah leads to watchfulness (zehirut),
watchfulness to alacrity (zerizut),
alacrity to cleanliness (nekiyut),
cleanliness to abstinence (perishut),
abstinence to purity (taharah),
purity to piety (chasidut),
piety to humility (anavah),
humility to fear of sin (yirat chet),
fear of sin to holiness (kedushah),
holiness to divine inspiration (ruach hakodesh),
and divine inspiration to the resurrection of the dead (techiyat hametim).”
This teaching later became the framework for the Ramchal’s Mesilat Yesharim, which builds a comprehensive system of ethical refinement upon Rabbi Pinchas’s outline. Each stage represents an increasingly subtle purification of behavior, intention, and spiritual consciousness.
Relationship with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
Rabbi Pinchas was originally the teacher of his son-in-law, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. When Rashbi and his son emerged from their cave after thirteen years of hiding from Roman persecution, Rabbi Pinchas wept upon seeing their damaged, scorched skin. Rashbi assured him that these years had elevated him to a level he could never have reached otherwise.
The Talmud notes that once, Rabbi Pinchas could answer twelve of Rashbi’s questions. After the cave, Rashbi could answer twenty-four of his. Though the student surpassed the master, their relationship remained one of profound mutual reverence. The Zohar consistently refers to Rabbi Pinchas as Rashbi’s father-in-law, while the Talmud uses the more flexible term chatan, meaning a family relation acquired through marriage.
Burial and Enduring Legacy
Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair is traditionally buried in Kfar Bar’am in the northern Galilee, near the remains of an exquisite 3rd-century synagogue. His resting place has served as a pilgrimage site for generations, believed to channel blessing and Divine mercy.
His ladder of virtues remains a cornerstone of Mussar and Chassidic thought, offering a systematic roadmap for personal transformation—from the first steps of Torah study to the highest states of holiness and divine inspiration.
Nachman Chatufa: The Child Prophet
Among the most mysterious traditions connected to Rabbi Pinchas is the story of his son, Nachman Chatufa, a child whose life bridged miracle, prophecy, and eschatology.
Miraculous Birth and Speech
After years of childlessness, Rabbi Pinchas and his wife Rachel were blessed with a son, Nachman—according to some accounts, born on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. Immediately after birth, the infant began to speak, describing in detail the structure of the seven heavens (shivah reki’im):
Vilon, Rakia, Shechakim, Zevul, Ma’on, Machon, and Aravot—the last containing the Throne of Glory and the souls of the righteous.
When the newborn began to speak about the Merkavah (the Divine Chariot), knowledge restricted only to the most advanced mystics, Rabbi Pinchas silenced him. Nachman ceased speaking entirely for twelve years.
The Prophecies at Age Twelve
On his twelfth birthday, after Rabbi Pinchas prayed for his voice to return, Nachman began speaking again—not ordinary speech, but five cryptic prophecies concerning the end of days. These were recorded in Aramaic in a text known as Nevuat HaYeled (“The Prophecy of the Child”). Tradition teaches that their meaning will be fully understood only by the generation preceding the Messiah.
As soon as he completed these prophecies, Nachman collapsed and died—“plucked” from the world, giving rise to the name Chatufa (“snatched”).