A video has surfaced featuring a man, his face entirely covered, reportedly attending the wedding of his son, Yaakov Amrani. The man is alleged to have lived in a stunning form of isolation, without having seen a single human face, for the past 40 years! Details about his identity and background remain unknown.
YWN has not been able to verify the man’s identity or the claims about him not seeing anyone’s face for four decades.
It’s also worth noting that Israel often sees the emergence of tzadikim whose backgrounds are not widely known.
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49 Responses
Why is it tzidkus to not see a human face?
Why is it tzidkus to not see a human face? What does it do psychologically to his children?
If he has not seen his son’s or wife’s face in the past 40 years he is not a tzaddik but a rasha.
His son does not look like a 40+ year old whatsoever (assuming that’s his son who he’s hugging like crazy). How’s it possible then that he hasn’t seen a human face for the past 40 years??
Why would this be glorified?
I was always taught Yidden are not hermits nor do we lock ourselves in monasteries.
The centers of the Amish communities are middle of nowhere Lancaster County, PA & Holmes County, OH.
Our center of American Judaism is New York City.
40 years!!! So his children never experienced the loving look of a father? Never experienced their father’s facial expressions that are so important to communication?
Never saw the look of their father shepping nachas over their accomplishments?
This is something that should be called out for what it is, insanity!
Which of our “Great ones” did this? Reb Moshe? The Satmar Rebbe? The Lubavitch Rebbe? R’ Aron Kotler? The Kloizenberg Rebbe? Etc. I think not.
How old is the son at the time of the wedding?
Can everybody please stop judging? And for those people who can’t figure it out.. try to figure it out
H doesn’t daven with a minyan?
Interesting הנהגה.
The Machnivka Rebbe zatzal sat during davening facing the oilam. Said he, that for his seven years in Siberia, he didn’t once see a אידיש פנים; now he wants to see Yiddishe faces.
Reply to some comments above. Perhaps, just Perhaps, he kept his eyes closed all the time while his family saw him.
It is certainly not recorded in history as being a suggested hanhaga.
i personally just don’t think its true. 40 years!? what!? uh and how does he have a son in the first place? anything really just isn’t possible when you think about it.
oga boga
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It is Chanukah now, not Purim or April 1st.
If true, which I strongly doubt, the man needs serious help.
Wow, I am surprised by some of the reactions here.
First of all, no one should be jumping to be mevaze anybody, and certainly someone who is very possibly a tzaddik or talmid chacham, whether or not you understand everything he does.
Second of all, the fact that most gedolim don’t do something does not at all mean that there is no such middah for certain yechidim. Read a little bit about the Arizal and some of the hanhagos he practiced, and get back to me. There are also chazals that refer to such practices for yechidim (e.g. how Rav Papa and Rav Sheshes became blind). There were many tzaddikim and yechidei segula throughout the doros who practiced hanhagos which would be considered extreme for a common person to do.
Please do not jump to conclusions and public bizui talmidei chachamim. The punishment for doing so is quite severe, to put it mildly. Look into the topic.
Not even Moshe Rabeinu did such a thing. Not even after the Har Sinai.
This story mamish doesn’t make sense. It’s most likely a “bubbeh maseh”.
If it is true then he needs a good doctor!
So not normal!!!
Its some kind of lead up to money collecting.
how do you know its Him if you cant see him?!
if we know who his son is, then he’s not unknown.
Fits right in with the Tembelim in EY
…so typical
Suddenly a huge tzaddik….right
How did those guys in the hats even know who he is?,
How did he get those beautiful clothes? The gloves?
They left outside his door??
And how was he mechanich his family ?
It’s all such a deep mystery
We’ll, at least his family will now have lots of parnosso
A fraudulent mekubal/miracle worker in the making.
How did he have his son then? Unless his son is over 40, I say it’s cap
Kuvult – “Which of our “Great ones” did this? Reb Moshe? The Satmar Rebbe? The Lubavitch Rebbe? R’ Aron Kotler? The Kloizenberg Rebbe? Etc. I think not.”
I disagree with this line of thinking. Did all the above tzadikim wear tefillin the whole day or wear 70 pairs of tzitzis? Did they all give out dollar bills? Every tzadik has his own derech. And for that matter, every yid has own derech!
We can’t say that because someone didn’t see a human face for 40 years that makes him a tzadik, but I would leave the judgement up to HKB”H and not draw conclusions either way.
is mr faceless also nameless?
nebach
I’m appalled that somebody’s OCD is being celebrated as piety and asceticism.
Let’s face it (no pun intended) if in fact he didn’t see a human face in 40 years then he would have never seen the face of his kid that’s getting married… Just find that way of life hard to understand…
Food for thought — I agree with every commenter here. But then considered, what if this person has a very deformed face such as due to neurofibromatosis type 1. There was a man who came from Israel to my shul 20 years ago who had so many tumors on his face that his face didn’t look like a face and it made me privately question how Hashem could put a human being through such suffering. Now if we had that information here, we would understand that this face covering didn’t start with some religious holier than thou objective and that though the children love their father but may not have the self confidence to face the world with others stares and feeling so different and they are happier to “make it seem” like the covering is a religious driven issue and it doesn’t affect their shiddduchim in the same way as if the face were seen ad so many questions asked — especially in our vain beauty driven give me a phot of the girl shidduch world (and a photo of her mother so I will know what to expect she will look like in 20 years from now). Sometimes people make excuses to avoid having to explain what is really going on. And sometimes we don’t have to really know all the reasons and explanations. And let’s take it one step further — if indeed Hashem has caused someone so much affliction that they can’t show their face in public — then they surely are a tzadik with a very elevated neshama.
“It’s also worth noting that Israel often sees the emergence of tzadikim whose backgrounds are not widely known.”
Really? Like who else? I’ve been here a while and haven’t heard of too many. The gedolim I’ve heard about worked on themselves for years on end and eventually started serving the klall on a grand scale only after being left no other choice.
Since when does doing strange customs, especially those not specifically endorsed by our mesorah, automatically mean he’s a tzadik? I don’t know the first thing about this person, but it’s usually other gedolim that recognize tzadikim for what they are, not a sensationalist journalist looking for clicks.
What is wild here is the YWN title, which makes many assumptions..
1. That this guy hidden under the talis is indeed a Tzaddik. How do you know?
2. That this is his son. Ditto?
3. The statement that he hasn’t seen a human face for 40 years. How do you know?
4. Are the combination of the above facts what makes him into a Tzaddik? The lack of detail, and the title of the piece, would apparently imply so..or am I missing something.
5. If the Tzaddik himself is indeed the sole source of all the above facts, isn’t that a little simplistic of YWN to just run with the guy’s one narrative above himself?
Or what?! I’m genuinely interested in YWN philosophy of journalism. Please clarify. Thanks.
*”own narrative about himself”
beautiful
Chill out everyone. Don’t you notice trolling when you see it? Every single one of these comments were anticipated by the ones who posted ithe story and you fell for it.
Maybe everybody should start with a check on the fact that this person probably has a chezkas Kashrus, it thus is ossur to demean him in whichever way. At least it is a safek d’Oiraisa.
Maybe we should start and think a little bit about being dan lekaf zechus.
I was in awe reading about people who can arrange to live in such a way. Even though for the very fast majority of people this would not be possible, still I have admiration for any way that people try to connect to the Aibishter.
Maybe you have not seen it, and not heard of it because there might be only a blessed few yechidim for whom the circumstances allow for this kind of Avoidah. It is true that the Torah luminaries did not behave in such ways, but remember, everybody has a unique path for his Avoidas Hashem. I think we should at the very least be very careful and think a 1000x before we judge somebody and certainly as going so far as saying things that could be construed as an issur in the issurim regarding speech. R”L.
Agree with sense seichel, Hashem Yishmor Veyaytsil!
@yeshivaman613
“First of all, no one should be jumping to be mevaze anybody, and certainly someone who is very possibly a tzaddik or talmid chacham, whether or not you understand everything he does.”
We’ve tried that method. We got Helbrans etc. Forgive the majority of us for being skeptical.
Some things are really not internet friendly
I mamish never saw a Tzaddik hug like that..
Just saying.
And what are the white gloves for? Also piety? Lol
If he never saw a human face in 40 years, then how could he prey with a minyan?
If he never saw a human face in 40 years, then how could he pray with a minyan?
Why is complete and utter mental retardation being categorized as Tzidkus? We aren’t Muslims and we don’t celebrate being covered head to toe.
Also how do you know Mr peeckaboo is indeed a Tzadik? Mehecha tiesi? We admire Talmidei Chachamim by their Torah Dveikus and mesiras nefesh to serve Hashem, not by their retarded obsessive quirks such as playing peeckaboo for 40 years. Cringe!!!!
צדיק בא לעיר, welcome big zadik!
Welcome to the אדמו”ר מפנב”ל, PNBL Rebbe (Pinto-Nikelsburg-Breslev-Lev Tahor Rebbe – (pronounced pinball). Those want to be among the first or early Chasidim, and get in on the ground floor, sign up now.
@pekak well said. 100%
Wow only 40 comments.
I think it’s the chosson s mother.
What’s with the gloves? What do they have to with not seeing a face?
Is he also too holy to touch another human?
My personal take (especially with the gloves)?
It’s a women under all those coverings pulling off a crazy prank.
The Rambam is continuing his list of people so sinful they merit no share in the World to Come, some of the very rare exceptions to an almost universal rule. The first type of sinner the Rambam lists is a curious one — a person who is perfectly observant yet who entirely disassociates himself from the Jewish community. He does no sins per se, yet he does not in the slightest identify with his coreligionists. He neither takes part in their joys nor their suffering. He merely goes his own way minding his own business, taking no part in the lives or affairs of his fellow Jews