Community Magazine January 2019

TEVET - SHEVAT 5779 JANUARY 2019 61 S P E C I A L C OMM E MO R A T I V E I S S U E Sponsored by the Kassin family in loving memory of Hacham Shul Kassin, zt"l “EVERY OUNCE OF HIS BEING” Remarkably, Hacham Shaul managed to make himself accessible and relatable to all members of our community, in order to inspire us and raise our level of observance, despite his lofty personal standards of piety, which put him in a league of his own. “My grandfather was the consummate eved Hashem [servant of Gd],” said his grandson, Rabbi Saul Kassin. “He dedicated every ounce of his being to Torah, to Hashem and to mitzvot , and he did it faster than anyone else.” For example, the Chief Rabbi prayed Shaharit at vatikin – sunrise – every day of his life. But besides ensuring to pray each morning at the earliest possible moment, he also prayed every morning as if he were doing so for the first time, reciting the words each and every day with the kind of fervor and intensity that most of us likely never feel during prayer. His son Isaac recalled in particular how the rabbi would pray from the depths of his heart for every Jew. He would get particularly emotional while praying for ill patients, and when mourning the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash during the late-night Tikkun Hatzot service. As his grandson shared, “He really was someone who was metzapeh legeulah ” – who desperately longed for the arrival of Mashiah and the end of our nation’s exile. THE LOSS OF OUR TEACHER For many community members, reflecting upon the life, work and character of the Chief Rabbi raises uncomfortable but vitally important questions about ourselves and our own lives. Do we take a holy sefer (book) with us wherever we go, as the rabbi was known to do? Do we take pains to educate our children and grandchildren in each and every mitzvah , sending themreminders, as the rabbi did for his family members? Do we marvel at the wonders of the natural world and feel awe-inspired by Hashem’s infinite wisdom, as the rabbi did so frequently? For most of us, such simple joy and awe is all but impossible to experience in our fast-paced world. We mourn the rabbi’s passing because he epitomized the values that for the rest of us, unfortunately, tend to get lost as a result of technology, materialism, and skewed priorities. We’ve also lost our teacher – the man who brought us and perpetuated the tradition of his father, Hacham Yaakov Kassin, zt”l. It was a tradition that stood on the values of peace and acceptance, which sought to achieve a sense of ahdut (unity) and closeness within the community. Rabbi Nahum compared the rabbi to a menorah tehorah (“pure menorah ”), and also to the kohen who stood between the branches of the menorah , bringing together the righteous Jews with the less observant. “He handled conflicts with peace as his main goal, and heworried about the community like a father does for his son,” said Rabbi Saul Kassin of his grandfather. OUR PROTECTIVE SHIELD “The tragedy of losing a Hacham Gadol is greater than the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash and all the curses in Devarim,” Rabbi Shlomo Diamond lamented. He explained that the great tzadikim serve to protect us, and so when they leave this world, we become vulnerable to harm. “Our community had a shield in Hacham Yaakov, and after him, Hacham Shaul,” said Rabbi Diamond. “And now there is no shield. The best we can do is try to emulate his ways of sweetness and shalom and kedushah , so that each one of us will build a little part of that shield that we need for the community.” It is up to us, then, to build this shield through our collective efforts. Though none of us can reach the level of greatness achieved by Hacham Shaul or his father, our combined efforts can perhaps wield the same power. With the loss of our great leader, we must work to enhance our relationship to each other, and to redouble our efforts to transmit to our children the sacred traditionwe’ve received from our Chief Rabbis, and thereby earn Hashem’s protection. May we all learn from Hacham Shaul’s religious passion, his gentle nature and his purity of heart, andmaywe all work to love one another and grow together, just as he always wanted us to do. May we forever remain united and strictly maintain the standards of purity that were so important to him. By continuing the legacy and teachings of our great Chief Rabbi, we will, please Gd, rebuild the protective shield that we lost when Hacham Shaul’s brilliant light was extinguished.