&to=http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/364/16746_sharon.html' target=_blank>Rabbi Yitzhak Kadouri, a revered mystic who cursed Saddam Hussein, criticized Madonna and influenced Israeli elections, died late Saturday after a lengthy bout with pneumonia. He was said to be at least 106 years old.
Even at his advanced age, Kadouri, a sage of the Kabbalah school of mystical thought, was sought out for blessings by believers suffering from illnesses or seeking heavenly favors.
"Thousands and thousands of people have benefited from his blessings _ cancer patients, heart patients, couples without children," said Moshe Nimni, his chief aide.
People seeking blessings would crowd his house and sometimes line up outside, waiting for an unintelligible incantation.
For the last decade, the frail, thin Kabbalist with wispy white beard and trademark cylindrical headgear, did not speak loudly enough to be heard. His pronouncements were relayed by his sons, who would lean down and place their ears close to his lips.
Despite his great prestige, Kadouri retained his modest lifestyle to the end of his days: The only sign of an upscale move was his switch in the past few years to Marlboro Lights from Israeli-made Noblesse cigarettes.
Kadouri's appeal was mostly among Jews of &to=http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/93/375/15813_Israel.html' target=_blank>Middle East origin. A reported word from the venerated rabbi could move political mountains.
In 2000, a little-known parliamentary backbencher named Moshe Katsav ran for Israeli President against the world renowned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres. Katsav won a shocking victory after Kadouri said he had a "vision" that Katsav was favored by the heavens _ and all 17 members of Shas, an Orthodox Jewish party, voted for Katsav, now Israel's president.
In 1999, Kadouri galvanized opposition to an emerging peace deal with Syria in exchange for the strategic Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 war. At a Shas rally, he proclaimed that the plateau "must not be given back to the gentiles." The talks fell through a year later.
Shas used the ancient rabbi as a rallying point in several elections. Once he was in such demand that Shas politicos bundled him into a helicopter and flew him over several election gatherings to spread his spiritual grace over as wide an area as possible, reports AP.
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