Community Magazine February 2019

REMEMBERING HACHAM SHAUL KASSIN, ZT”L Dear CommunityMagazine,  I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the great effort and product that you produce for our people month after month. It is very clear to me the painstaking decisions that go into making the community magazine a “kosher” periodical that we welcome into our homes and minds. HazakUbaruch ! I am also aware that nothing is perfect. Even your magazine is“good”butnotperfect.Please allow me to point out a recent imperfection.  Your last edition was dedicated to the memory of our esteemed and late Chief Rabbi Hacham Shaul Kassin, zsvl . Itwasveryappropriateand very well done. It gave your readers a sense of who this great rabbi was and it extolled his wonderful midot and service to Hashem.  We would need an entire encyclopedia to chronicle the life of this sadeek . Your exposé on the rabbi definitely capturedhis essence. Kudos!    Pictures play a very important roleingivingthereaderaheightened sensory perception of the subject at hand. I am sure that some readers just look at the pictures and captions and get uplifted. That’s why inalmost every book about the gedolim thereareauthenticpictures included. Pictures of the gadol , their family, life cycle events, etc. Your magazine definitely included some amazing old photos of the rabbi and his family. They included amazing photos of the rabbi and his children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. There was one picturethatcaughtmyattention.The picture of Hacham Shaul’s parents. Our esteemed Chief Rabbi Hacham Yaakob, obm, and his Rebetzin Mazal, obm . The only problem was that the magazine removed the face of Rebetzin Mazal. Why? Did Hacham Shaul not have a mother? Did Hacham Yaakob not have a wife? Was Rebetzin Mazal not an important part of this history? Why was her facedeleted? Shouldwe remove thepictures of our great grandmothers from our albums and frames? Certainly not! The magazine made a big mistake.  The magazine owes an apology first to the Rebetzin, a”h , for the disrespect we showed (or didn’t show) her. An apology to Hacham Shaul, a”h , and the entire Kassin family, and to all our readership for sending this wrong message.  Finally, I would ask you to please rectify this by printing the original picture. Furthermore, the magazine should reconsider its extreme policy of what pictures should be allowed. A competent halachic authority should be consulted so this doesn’t happen again.   That being said, may your magazine continue to enlighten our people, and may all those involved with the publication enjoy only blessings and prosperity, amen.  Respectfully, Rabbi Eli J. Mansour Contributing writer for Community magazine Dear Rabbi, Thank you for the kind words and constructive advice. In the rush to complete the profile on Rabbi Kassin, zsvl, the photo in question was modifiedout of routineand without any deliberation. We recognize that, though we generally prefer to err to the side of caution in questions of modesty, in this case there should have been more consideration with respect to context. The family photo most certainly should have been printed without exclusions and we extend our deep apologies to the Rebetzin, the Kassin family, and the community as a whole. We have undertaken to fine-tune our editorial processes to prevent such a recurrence in the future. May Hashem guide us in the proper path. Dear Community Magazine, We would like to thank you very much for the amazing work that you do producing a magazine that everyone can bring to their home with confidence that the content is suitable for themost discriminating Torah observant families. It’s an honor for our community to have such a beautiful magazine that reflects true yirat Shamayim . It came to our attention that, in this past month’s issue which was dedicated in memory of our esteemed grandfather, Chief Rabbi Hacham Shaul, there was a photo that omitted my great-grandmother. In our view, this reflexive inclinationtomodesty is praiseworthy.  It is a great zechut for the entire Kassin family that the community held our grandparents and great-grandparents in such high esteem. Thank you again for doing such a great job. The grandchildren of Hacham Shaul Kassin, ZT"L JANUARY 2019 ISSUE Tell us what you really think! Send us a letter! Letters submitted become the property of Community Magazine and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Letters may be edited and revised for length, style and grammar before publication. All submissions are considered for publication unless otherwise requested. EMAIL: letters@CommunityM.com WEB: www.CommunityM.com FAX: 718-504-4246 POST: Community Magazine 1616 Ocean Pkwy Brooklyn, NY 11223 l tters VolumeXVIIINumber 4 Tevet -Shevat 5779 January 2019 COMMUNITY TheSounds andSpiritofBrooklyn in theDeepSouth TheStoryofRabbiYosefBraha and theMemphisKollel ProtectingOurselvesFrom AyinHara WordsofRabbiEli J.Mansour SPECIALHANUKAHFEATURES S P E C I A L C O M M E M O R A T I V E I S S U E CHIEFRABBI, HACHAMSHAULKASSIN 5681–5779 / 1921-2018 k ” mz 14 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE