Nothing like it had ever happened before at Midrash Bet Zilkha, a house of Jewish learning in the city of Baghdad. Though rumors had reached the head of the institution that Shimon and Reuven—only seventeen years old—were secretly studying Kabbalah, this time he had caught them in the act. Naturally, he forbade the two from continuing their studies. The embarrassed students didn’t dare defy him. But one classmate, Yaakov, went further—he spread a rumor that the boys were still studying Kabbalah in secret.
Shimon devised a plan: he would publicly vow not to exchange a single word with Reuven until the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul. With time, the gossip might fade, and the two could return to their mystical studies. But Shimon knew Reuven’s sensitive nature well. He feared his friend might misinterpret the silence as a polite way of cutting ties. And so, he wrote him a letter:
“My brother and beloved friend, dear to me as my own soul, you know that I wish to end quarrels and needless talk.”
This opening line, he inscribed at the top of the page in mirror writing—as if to conceal it from prying eyes.
“I am letting you know that even though Hakham Shmuel ordered both of us to stop studying Kabbalah, and we’ve done everything he asked, the boys don’t believe us—especially Yaakov.”
After laying out the details of his plan, he added a heartfelt reassurance:
“Don’t think that my intention is to stop studying with you, and that this is just a gentle way of pushing you aside. I have loved you with a great love, an eternal love, a love that depends on nothing.” All that remained was for Shimon to wait for his friend’s reply. He urged Reuven to write it “on this same piece of paper, so the matter won’t be discovered.” We don’t have Reuven’s response—but other letters show that the friendship endured, even after Reuven left the yeshiva. And so, in a swirl of secrecy and youthful devotion, began the extraordinary journey of Shimon Agassi, who would go on to become one of Baghdad’s most revered rabbis and Kabbalists.
Rabbi Shimon Agassi was born in 1852 to Aharon Aba bar Aba and his wife Farha (née Raju’an). The family’s livelihood included, among other things, importing indigo dye and working as brokers. At the age of thirteen, Shimon faced a choice: enrolling in the newly established Alliance Israélite Universelle school in Baghdad, or joining the family business. Much to his parents’ joy, he chose a different path altogether—Torah study—and began attending Midrash Bet Zilkha, one of the most prestigious centers of Jewish learning in the Middle East. As an adult, he married Rachel (also known as Chakhla). He dedicated half his day to supporting his household, and the other half to Torah study. The couple had ten children, though two died in childhood, and their eldest son, Aharon, passed away before his own wedding.
Over time, Rabbi Shimon Agassi’s name became renowned among the Jews of Baghdad—and beyond. Word of his dedication to Torah study and his spiritual stature spread, and many turned to him with halakhic questions. Even more came to his door in search of blessings and spiritual guidance.
His archive, deposited at the National Library of Israel by his grandson—also named Shimon Agassi—was recently cataloged and made available to the public. It bears witness to the breadth and depth of his life’s work. Among its contents are halakhic responsa, commentaries on Jewish law and Kabbalah, correspondence with family across the globe as well as with leading Torah scholars, reflections on community and contemporary events, liturgical poems (piyyutim) of his own composition, and extensive materials related to practical Kabbalah: amulets and mystical diagrams, incantations, unique prayers, divination charts, lists of angelic names, and more.
One notable item is a small sheet in Rabbi Agassi’s handwriting, discussing the concepts of gilgul neshamot (“reincarnation of souls”) and ibbur neshamot (“soul impregnation”), based on the teachings of Rabbi Hayyim Vital. Also preserved is a draft of a letter addressed to Rabbi Yosef Hayim of Baghdad—known as the Ben Ish Hai—one of the greatest halakhic authorities of his time and a towering figure among the Jews of the Middle East. In the letter, Agassi requests a Kabbalistic explanation of topics related to the Birkat HaMapil (the blessing said before sleep) and the prohibition of marital relations on Yom Kippur. The Ben Ish Hai’s response, which appears in his work Shu”t Rav Pe’alim (Part I, Sod Yesharim 14), begins with the words:
“This response I have written to the all-encompassing sage, knower of secrets, our teacher, Rabbi Shimon Agassi.”
Alongside such deep study, Rabbi Agassi also immersed himself in the practice of practical Kabbalah. Among the items in his estate is an amulet for healing, written for a woman named Laila bat Rachma; instructions for crafting an amulet to assist a woman in labor; and a charm meant to help a man reconcile with his wife. One particularly unique item is a notebook written in both Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic. It contains spells for relieving headaches, gaining favor in the eyes of others, and even becoming invisible. It also includes descriptions of numerous magical techniques related to love, detailed instructions for casting the Goral Daniel (Daniel’s divination), and an entire section devoted to the signs of the zodiac and their respective influences. The notebook’s authorship remains unknown—it is not written in Rabbi Agassi’s hand, and how it came into his possession is also unclear. However, names appear in the margins of its pages, likely those of the individuals for whom the amulets were written and the spells recited. All of this indicates that the notebook served as a working tool for a practicing Kabbalist.
Rabbi Agassi also prayed for himself and his family. On the opposite side of a condolence letter he received from the rabbis of Kurdistan—sent after the sudden and tragic death of his son shortly before his wedding—Rabbi Agassi composed a private prayer. In it, he pleaded to understand the reasons for the calamity that had befallen his own family:
“Concerning the wretched man, Shimon son of Farha, and his wife, the sorrowful woman Chakhla bat Katun—whose match had once prospered and grown in fortune, for the Lord had blessed them with precious sons like olive saplings… and now a rose has been plucked, the first fruit of their strength, the light of their eyes. Aharon drew near the altar in the prime of his youth, sixteen years old… and not only that, he was taken just before his wedding.”
He beseeches God to send either him or his wife a sign, “in dreams or through divination, to know why and for what purpose the Lord has done this, to take the delight of their eyes, the fruit of their womb.”
Rabbi Shimon Agassi passed away on the 8th of Av, 5674 (July 31, 1914), just days after the outbreak of the First World War, during a cholera epidemic that struck Baghdad. The remains of his gravestone were discovered in the Jewish cemetery in Baghdad following the arrival of U.S. forces in Iraq in 2003.
Rabbi Agassi’s passing came at the threshold of a turbulent era for the Jews of Iraq and for the world at large. It marked the close of an extraordinary life—one of Torah scholarship, Kabbalistic devotion, and spiritual leadership. The archive he left behind—manuscripts, commentaries, prayers, amulets, and mystical formulas—offers a profound window into his inner world and reflects the rich spiritual life of Baghdad’s Jewish community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Shimon Agassi Archive was cataloged and made accessible at the National Library of Israel, thanks to the kind donation of the Samis Foundation, Seattle, Washington, dedicated to the memory of Samuel Israel. Matan Stein is the archivist in charge of handling the Shimon Agassi Archive.
