Community Magazine December 2012

BY HIS SON-IN-LAW, DR. JACQUES DOUECK 1 TAKE A GENUINE INTEREST IN OTHERS – REACH OUT AND TOUCH THEIR LIVES – BECAUSE EVERYONE IS IMPORTANT. Jack Mavorah recalls, “There isn’t anyone I know of in my lifetime who helped to educate and guide our Sephardic youth the way you did. You would never give up on me. You were always encouraging, never angry. You are the most persistent man I have ever known. How many people in our community have you to thank for their spiritual growth?” I first met my father-in-law on the bus going to work. I had a cup of coffee in my hand. He came over to me, a stranger, and asked, “Why start your morning drinking coffee on the bus? Why don’t you come to kinees (synagogue) to read Hok L’Yisrael and pray in the first minyan ?” When I decided to take him up on his offer, people told me, “Some crazy man on the bus tells you to come to kinees at 5am and you’re going to listen to him?” Well, I did listen to him, and I couldn’t be happier that I did. 2 DON’T BE SHY TO TELL YOUR FAMILY I LOVE YOU. I learned from my father-in-law that every phone call is an opportunity to tell everyone in my family, “I love you.” 3 LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO SMILE, TO ENCOURAGE, TO APPRECIATE, TO GIVE A BERACHAH, AND TO REMEMBER HASHEM. He always gave everyone a smile, and got everyone to smile back. Everyone was made to feel welcome, and he would heap praise on every newcomer to kinees for coming to pray. There was always a reason he found to say thank you. Instead of “good night,” he would say, “ Betov talinu berahamim takitzu – You shall sleep well and arise with [divine] compassion.” And every morning, as he would unlock his store, he would say, “ B’shem Hashem na-aseh venatzli’ah – In the Name of Hashem, we will act and succeed.” 4 LIFE IS ABOUT ESTABLISHING GOOD HABITS. His life revolved around the kinees and the habits involved in being observant. He started each day with Hok L’Yisrael classes at 4:30am. 5 NEVER GIVE UP – NEITHER ON YOURSELF NOR ON OTHERS. When he first came to this country, his uncles warned him that he would never be able to keep Shabbat in America. But he didn’t give up, and no matter what it took, he observed Shabbat. He was serving in the military in Alabama in the 1940’s, when Succot came around. Somehow, while in the heart of the deep south almost 70 years ago, he managed to build a succah. And when it was blown down, he built it anew. He even found a way to build a succah when he was living in a small apartment on top of a store on 20 th Ave. He established a youth minyan known as YMD at Congregation Magen David in Bensonhurst in the 1940’s, which he ran until 1964, when he moved away. Not feeling discouraged for a moment, he simply started all over in Flatbush, in Shaare Zion. 6 GET EVERYONE INVOLVED. Charlie understood what attracted kids, and so to bring in these “customers,” Charlie’s shul gave out just want they wanted – food – and lots of it! “I was 9 years old,” Joey Bijou recalls, “when the Coca Cola truck would pull up and Charlie had all of us busy unloading the soda. It took us hours.” The girls would be in charge of preparing seudah shelishit (the afternoon Shabbat meal) and holiday meals. On Succot, Charlie had a huge succah built for the kinees . Charlie gave the children a chance to experience the true spirit of the holiday at a time when very few families had a succah in their own yards. 7 ENCOURAGE OTHERS AND HELP THEM MAKE IT HAPPEN . He took it upon himself to make sure others could find a job without working on Shabbat. 8 WORDS ARE POWERFUL. EVERYTHING HE SAID WAS POSITIVE. Some of the more common expressions to pass his lips were: “You are terrific, wonderful; you are my heart; gorgeous.” And when he saw a beautiful sunset, he would say “ yishtabah Shemo – praise His name!” 9 MAKE IT FUN TO BE JEWISH. The YMD minyan is still very much alive today in the hearts of those who were lucky enough to experience it. Mrs. Marlene Ben-Dayan recalled the wonderful YMD days and how Charlie’s minyan changed the outlook of those involved. “In those days, you wanted to be American. It seemed appealing. We kept Shabbat, but we didn’t feel we had to go to kinees . We went to public school, and almost the whole class was Jewish, but not religious. Charlie gave us a world that we could fit into comfortably. He made us love the prayers and appreciate our heritage. But more than anything, he gave us memories that became the foundation for a lifetime of Jewish observance.” As a testament to this concept, many of those YMD children grew up to be rabbis and lay leaders in our community. 10 REVIVE THE LOST ART TO LETTER WRITING. Charlie’s letters were in a class of their own. In the YMD days, he sent letters throughout the world to encourage donations. Years later, when he was no longer a young man, Charlie was still mailing tens of letters daily, each filled with his beautiful handwriting and personalized, loving words. In a letter that was typical of his style, he wrote to Rabbi David Ozerie: “You are truly wonderful. Seeing you at my grandson’s Bar Mitzvah was great. You give me great pleasure and I am very proud of you. May Boreh Olam [Creator of the world] fill your home with happiness, health and long life for you and your family. And may we see HaMashiah, bimhera beyamenu [speedily in our days] , amen. Your true friend, Charlie.” Charlie Serouya grew up in an orphanage. He could have easily ended up a failure, and no one would have had any claims against him for it. But Charlie was determined to be successful, and made it his business to make countless other people successful in the process. While there were many pearls of wisdom he imparted to those around him, there were ten primary principles he stood for which exemplify his philosophy on life. “Believe in Yourself and in Others” 10 Principles of Charlie Serouya a.h. Pick up the free CD “Believe in Yourself and Believe in Others: 10 Principles of Charlie Serouya a.h.” at Tehilat Yitzchak Book Store, 551 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, NY or listen online at www.mishkanshaul.com 80 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE