In this testimony published by Breslev.fr, Rav Avraham Ifrah recounts his personal encounter with Shmouel. He describes his initial astonishment, the exchanges that took place and the lasting impression left by this meeting.

This document constitutes one of the most detailed personal testimonies devoted to Shmouel and allows a better understanding of the impact he was able to have on certain visitors.

On Shmouel's discharge from one of his hospital stays, a telephone exchange took place with Rav Yitzhak Ginsburgh in order to convey certain messages to him. At the end of this conversation, the Rav simply asked:

« Tell him that I love him. »

Some years later, during a meeting in Israel with Shmouel and those close to him, after a brief exchange, the Rav concluded to those who were with him:

« He will help you to welcome Machia'h. »

During a meeting with Shmouel in Israel at his Yeshiva Hut Shel Hessed in Jerusalem, which several people present that evening attended, Rav Shalom Arush asked for a blessing in order to increase the time devoted to his work of outreach to the nations.

Shmouel addressed to him a message of encouragement in this direction, gave him his blessing and asked him to announce his coming. According to the testimony reported after this meeting, the Rav is said then to have declared:

« From now on, everything is possible. He may well be the prodigy child of whom Rabbi Nahman spoke. »

This testimony was notably reported by Michael, a close collaborator of Rav Shalom Arush, as well as by several people present at this meeting.

Following several messages issued by Shmouel concerning the future of the Jews of France and the encouragement to Aliyah, which gave rise to many debates, Rav Ron Chaya was led to organise a videoconference exchange with Shmouel.

In the course of this meeting, he set out to him in particular the position attributed to Rav Aharon Leib Steinman, who did not share the view that the Aliyah of the Jews of France was necessary.

During this exchange, Shmouel replied to this assertion:

« The Rav does not have the information that I have. »

During a meeting with Shmouel, Rav Haïm Kanievsky was informed of his physical condition as well as of a message that he wished to transmit concerning the Gueoula.

According to the testimony preserved by those present, after hearing this message and observing Shmouel, the Rav manifested a vivid emotion. Looking at him with joy and enthusiasm, he exclaimed with surprise twice:

« Refouah Shelema! Refouah Shelema! »

This testimony stands among the most striking encounters reported by those close to Shmouel. It remained in their memory as the spontaneous expression of a deep benevolence and of a particular emotion in the face of this meeting.

Following the diffusion of several messages by Shmouel calling on the Jews of France to prepare their Aliyah, these texts were presented to Rav Cook of Tiberias.

According to the testimony preserved by those close to him, after taking note of these messages, the Rav expressed his support for their content and declared:

« He is right. One must go up to Israel. And even more quickly than that. »

This testimony is part of the debates that surrounded Shmouel's repeated calls to Aliyah during the years 2012 to 2014.

At a time when Shmouel's writings were giving rise to many discussions, certain people in Israel questioned Yekoutiel Abouhatsira, a young child also gravely disabled and from the Abouhatsira family, about Shmouel.

According to the testimony transmitted at the time, he replied:

« The child Shmouel is an immense tsadik. He has great revelations to make to the world. »

Published in 2013, this article examines the way in which the French-speaking Jewish world questioned itself about the testimonies of non-verbal children and about their compatibility with Jewish tradition.

It bears witness to the interest aroused at the time by these questions, well beyond the circle close to Shmouel.

This article presents a pilot programme of Tsahal aiming to integrate certain young autistic individuals into intelligence analysis units. It highlights certain capacities of observation, of memory and of information processing that have caught the attention of the Israeli academic and military world.

Although without direct link to Shmouel, this article illustrates the evolution of the gaze cast upon certain autistic individuals and the debates that already, at that time, surrounded their sometimes unexpected capacities.