Community Magazine January 2019

TEVET - SHEVAT 5779 JANUARY 2019 53 S P E C I A L C OMM E MO R A T I V E I S S U E Sponsored by Congregation Bnai Yosef in loving memory of Hacham Shaul Kassin, zt"l The accident happened on my corner. So, every day, I say the berachah and am thankful for Hacham Shaul Kassin’s encouraging words and kindness. It’s something I’ll never forget. Anonymous The success of any country, organization, or community will always come down to their leader. The Jewish People had Moshe Rabbenu when they left Egypt, and the Syrian-American Jewish community had the Kassin family whose devotion to their people was absolute and entirely selfless. They held the community together through their love of the people and their love of Torah. That combination was the formula for success in a country where many Jews have given up their traditions and “melted” into the rest of the population. Wherever the community was, Rabbi Shaul would follow. If they were in Jersey in the summer, he would make sure to be with them. But what was most impressive about him was that he led by example. Everything he did for his people was done with humility and enthusiasm. When he read the “ mi sheberach ” blessing after the reading of the Torah on Shabbat morning, he would turn around as if to tell all the people in the synagogue that he had each and every one of them in mind. Hopefully, he will continue to pray for us, and we for him. Leon Beda On a trip to Eretz Yisrael, Hacham Shaul Kassin went camel riding in Jerusalem with his two older sons. My uncle, thinking he was a cowboy, ran and jumped on the camel. The camel took him up, but then quickly tossed him to the ground, causing him to break his pelvis bone. He required surgery and needed to recuperate for several days in a hospital in Jerusalem. After the surgery, when he was brought to recover in a hospital room, and his father sat at his bedside, a lady came over to Hacham Shaul and exclaimed, “Rabbi, please, come bless my son! He has been in a coma for many years, lying in bed without any response.” My grandfather walked across the hall to this boy’s bed, gave him a heartfelt berachah , and prayed for his recovery. It was late at night, so Hacham Shaul then went to say good night to his son and told him he would be back in the morning. Several minutes after Rabbi Shaul Kassin left the hospital, my uncle heard joyous screaming. The mother then came running to his bed screaming, “Where is the holy rabbi? I need to thank him. After he blessed my son, he just awoke from his coma, that he had been in for many years!” Saul Abe Kassin, grandson of Hacham Shaul Hacham Shaul Kassin is the reason why the Sephardic Syrian community in Brooklyn is the strongest and most successful community in the world. Rabbi Eliyahu Elbaz Hacham Shaul was a master of keeping peace within our community, like Aharon Hakohen. He kept all the different synagogues and people together. He served Gd and loved all the people in the community, no matter their views. Rabbi Eli J. Mansour Growing up, my father taught us many lessons. One very important message he implanted within me is, “Let your hand be hand, and let your law be law, let your eyes be eyes, and let your no be no.” Meaning, always tell the truth, and never deviate from the truth. He taught us to never, ever take a side, and not to judge people, because we are not qualified to be a judge. Jakie Kassin (Hacham Shaul’s son)