Community Magazine July - August 2003

42 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE s ” xc DEDICATED PARENTS Hacham Ben-Sion was born in Jerusalem to his father, Rav Eliyahu, and his mother, Benai, in 1924. His father had emigrated from Persia when he was a young boy and was the Gabai of the shul Ohel Rachel. When his mother was pregnant, every time she met a Hacham, she asked him, “Please pray that my son should eventually become a Talmid Hacham.” The first of sixteen children, he was named after his grandfather, Ben-Sion. There is a tradition of ten generations, father after grandfather, of “Ben-Sions’” that were Talmidei Hachamim. Although making due with only very limited means, Hacham Ben Zion’s family was anxious to own a home in Jerusalem. They learned of a parcel of land on Shmuel HaNavi Street, which was on the “green line” between Israel and Jordan. The land was relatively inexpensive because it was an extremely dangerous place to live, but nevertheless the family lacked sufficient capital to make the transaction. When Hacham Ben-Sion’s mother learned the situation, she immediately took her jewelry and told her husband, “Sell all my jewelry so we can afford to buy the land.” Rav Eliyahu was a shoemaker by trade. Though he worked hard during the day, all of his other hours were spent learning and serving his Creator. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach once asked Rav Eliyahu Aba Shaul, (son of Hacham Ben Sion named after his Grandfather) what his Grandfather did. Rav Eliyahu answered, “He was a simple Jew who worked for a living.” Rav Auerbach answered, “He definitely was not a simple Jew. Simple Jews don’t raise such children.” While still an infant, Ben-Sion once had a high fever. The family was poor and couldn’t afford to take him to a doctor. His mother cried herself to sleep because she couldn’t take care of her child. As she slept, she had a dream where a man appeared to her and said, “I am Eliyahu HaNavi. This child will grow to be a great Rabbi one day, and he has brought into your house Beracha. Because of this child, your husband’s business will be successful. I have put a silver coin in his pocket and with this coin, he will be able to buy goods, and he will prosper.” When she woke up in the morning, her husband was returning home from Netz Minyan (early morning prayers). She told him about the dream, and he started to laugh. When he put his hand in his pocket, sure enough, there was a silver coin that he hadn’t put there. With that coin, he B Y : R A B B I D A V I D S U T T O N Giants of The Glory Days H acham Ben-Sion Abba Shaul’s son said in his eulogy, “There are specialists in medicine, different doctors are experts in specific parts of the body. In religion we have that also. There are rabbis who are Bitachon (faith) experts, Mussar (encouragement) experts, or Kidushin (marriage) experts. Because the Torah is so vast, it’s hard for one person to master everything. Hacham Ben-Sion was a “general practitioner.” He had a feeling in everything. He taught all sections of the Torah, he knew how to do a Brit Milah, how to slaughter a chicken, how to write a Sefer Torah. He was a full-fledged Talmid Hacham (religious scholar).” Hacham Ben-Sion Abba Shaul k"mz Part I of II