Community Magazine January 2019

Remember i ng Ch i ef Rabb i , Hacham Shau l Kass i n, z t ” l 60 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE “When Hacham Shaul was young, he carried the burden of the community on his shoulders. When he grew old, he carried the burden of the community in his heart.” So proclaimed Rabbi Edmond Nahum, one of the numerous distinguished rabbis who eulogized Chief Rabbi Hacham Shaul J. Kassin at his funeral in Brooklyn on Sunday, December 2 nd . This description of Hacham Shaul beautifully captures the delicate balance between strength and softness that characterized Hacham Shaul. “He was an image of sweetness and purity,” said Rabbi Shlomo Diamond, and yet, as Rabbi Shimon Alouf put it, “his inner strength was so powerful because he had one purpose in front of his eyes – the welfare of this holy community.” THE HUMILITY OF MOSHE RABBENU Although he was a giant of Torah scholarship, Hacham Shaul had an especially unassuming presence. He always conducted himself in a humble, unassertive manner, constantly attached to Hashem, without any interest at all in the kind of great respect that was showered upon him. Rabbi Meyer Yedid recalled in his eulogy the elevation he felt whenever Hacham Shaul entered the dome of Shaare Zion, the powerful moments when every man, woman and child stood up for the rabbi. In his later years, it would often take the rabbi a full minute to reach his place at the front of the sanctuary. Throughout the entire process, he could be heard muttering under his breath, “mehilah, mehilah” – “forgive me.” The rabbi’s humility was a recurring theme at his funeral, with some speakers describing it as so extraordinary as to invite comparisons to that of Moshe Rabbenu. Countless examples of his humility were presented. Rabbi Alouf noted that Hacham Shaul would walk over to every guest at the Shabbat table and respectfully hand him a piece of hallah himself. The hacham’s grandson, Rabbi Saul Kassin, once found him down on his hands and knees before Pesach, searching his kitchen for hametz – when he was well into his 90s. And Hacham Yosef Harari-Raful spoke of the Chief Rabbi’s insistence on never having an assistant, and instead personally maintaining his own meticulous records. Hacham Shaul believed strongly that glory should be given only to Hashem, and that his purpose in life was to increase Gd’s glory and prominence, not his own. “PURE AND CLEAN” The rabbi’s steadfast, single-minded focus on this lofty objective was manifest at moments when crucial decisions needed to be made, and when he saw wrongdoing that needed to be halted. Though he was always gentle when addressing the congregation or a room full of students, he would not hesitate to show his proverbial iron fist and clearly lay down the final word when needed. Rabbi Yedid compared Hacham Shaul on these occasions to a lion, courageously and fearlessly opposing forces which he saw as dangerous to our community. Thus, for example, the Chief Rabbi firmly and uncompromisingly insisted on upholding our community’s edict concerning converts, without any exceptions. “He did everything leshem Shamayim [for the sake of Heaven],” said Hacham Harari-Raful. “His motives were pure and clean.” His commitment to purity was expressed through his painstaking efforts to raise awareness of taharat hamishpahah – the laws of family purity – in the community. He was instrumental in ensuring that engaged couples were educated in these laws and in spearheading the building of both the Avenue S and Kings Highway mikvehs. Before these mikvehs were built, women went to the mikveh in Boro Park, or didn’t go at all. “We have so much berachah because of his merit,” Rabbi Yedid reflected. OUR LEADER, OUR TEACHER, OUR SHIELD – MOURNING THE LOSS OF HACHAM SHAUL, ZT”L Hespedim Words from Rabbi Yosef Harari-Raful, Rabbi Shimon Alouf, Rabbi Shlomo Diamond, Rabbi Edmund Nahum, Rabbi Shmuel Choueka, Rabbi Meyer Yedid, and Rabbi Saul Kassin at the levaya at Magen David. KELLY JEMAL MASSRY Hacham Yosef Harari-Raful Rabbi Meyer Yedid Rabbi Shlomo Diamond Rabbi Shmuel Choueka Rabbi Shimon Alouf Hespedim