Community Magazine December 2013

Remembering Hacham Avraham Harari-Raful, zt”l Love of People Though he was an “Avraham,” Hacham Raful also shared the quality of Aharon, who was “a lover of peace, pursuer of peace, who loved people.” He brought peace wherever he went, and radiated love and acceptance. “He was able to see the good in everyone,” said Rabbi Shlomo Diamond, who knew Hacham Raful since 1962, when Rabbi Davis’ yeshiva was temporarily situated in Shaare Zion and Hacham Raful would learn with students of the yeshiva. “He believed: When there’s good, don’t let the bad darken the vision. He was able to see the tov [good]. He was friendly, he was warm. He didn’t give rebuke. Even though he was such a religious man he was everyone’s best friend. He had the midah [quality] of Aharon – the quality of bringing people back.” After his death, many people came forth and expressed this exact sentiment. “Your father never imposed on me,” one congregant told his sons. “It was your father’s love that made me want to impress him.” The rabbi could speak comfortably with the greatest Torah scholar and to the simple layman, not yet observant of Torah and mitzvot, because he spoke to everyone with the same level of respect and interest. This is what allowed him to have such an impact on people. “He did not believe in talking to the masses and having a large kahal [congregation],” says his son, Moshe. His motto was “ Quality is important, not quantity! ” He believed that the more effective approach was to teach one person at a time, and that person’s light would then illuminate and create more Torah, Moshe explained. “He worked with people one-on-one thereby building his kahal one-by-one. He would look around and say, ‘Who is the next project? How am I going to get the next person and bring him closer?’ Every single person in my father’s kahal was his ben yahid – his only one.” All those who knew him felt it, that they were special to him, and because they wanted to reciprocate somehow – or simply prove themselves worthy of his great love – they would change themselves to make him proud. “I knew your father loved me, and because he loved me I wanted to see what I could do to make him happy,” people told the Raful sons. Hacham Raful understood, perhaps more than anyone, that the key to outreach is genuine love and concern. Respect for Elders and Rabbis Infused with a sincere love for Torah and mitzvot , the rabbi showed great respect for Torah scholars. Honoring them was his greatest source of excitement. Rabbi David Ozeri recalled witnessing a meeting between him and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. He described how the hacham jumped out of the car to kiss the sage’s hand, put him in the front seat and fastened his seatbelt before going around to the back himself. He did all of this with great devotion, but also with a profound sense of awe and reverence. Humility Just as Avraham Avinu took time out of his own personal religious efforts to reach out to idol worshippers, Hacham Raful similarly believed in lowering himself for the sake of elevating others. “When you have love for the King, you don’t want the King to have one servant, you want him to have many servants,” said his son-in-law, Rabbi David Rabi. “Sometimes you have to minimize your own self to reach out to others. He went as low as he could to bring people close.” THIS PAST SUKKOT, OUR COMMUNITY LOST ONE OF ITS GEDOLIM, HACHAM AVRAHAM HARARI-RAFUL ZT”L , RABBI AND ROSH KOLLEL KETER TORAH. HE WAS A MAN KNOWN FOR HIS DEDICATION TO TORAH AND MITZVOT , AND FOR HIS LOVE OF PEOPLE. HE WAS AMAN OF PEACE, AMAN OF GREAT HUMILITY, ANDAMANWHO ROSE EVERY DAY EAGER TO DO HASHEM’S WILL. HE WAS INDEED AN “AVRAHAM” – RESPONSIBLE FOR RAISING THE LEVEL OF RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE IN OUR COMMUNITY FROM THE EARLY 1960’S. DURING HIS ARAYAT , SPEAKERS DESCRIBED THE NUMEROUS DIFFERENT QUALITIES THAT COMBINED TO MAKE HACHAM AVRAHAM SUCH A UNIQUE AND BELOVED FIGURE. K. MASSRY 30 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE