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Our Interview with Rabbi Assayag

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Our Interview with Rabbi Assayag Let’s Talk Tachlis _______ Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779 בס''ד A Publication of Yeshiva Yesodei HaTorah General Studies Department Our Interview with Rabbi Assayag Haham Amram Assayag has learning in Morocco meant that been a Rav in Toronto for more we had to learn everything by than 40 years, for the last 21 heart! years as Chief Rabbi of the Se- phardic Kehila Centre, which he When we decided to come to founded. Rabbi Assayag also Canada, there was one condition founded the Ohr Haemet school. that my parents insisted upon. He serves as a Dayan on all three The Sephardic Rav in Toronto, of the city’s batei din. YYH stu- Rav Yehuda Edery zt”l, who was dents had the privilege of inter- recently niftar, had to assure them viewing him this spring. that there was a proper chinuch available for their children. Baruch Transcribed by Yosef Baruch Hashem, we came, and I went to Wachsman and Shloimi Weiss, yeshiva and continued learning in Class of 2018; Michoel Nathan, the way of our forefathers. Eli Rothenberg, and Yosef Krupnik, Grade 7 How old was the Rav when he moved to Toronto, and was it a Can the Rav tell us about Jew- difficult adjustment? ish life in his birthplace of Tangiers, Morocco? When I was 15 years old, I came to Toronto and although every- Thank you for inviting me. Such a thing was extremely difficult to fine group of boys, B’ H. You manage, language was the great- should be zoche to become great est challenge. I spoke no English, talmidei chachamim. not a word. Tangiers was part of Spain, so we spoke Spanish at Tangiers is an old city, and Jews home — unlike the southern part were living there for many hun- of Morocco where Arabic was dreds of years, long before they spoken. In school, during limudei arrived from Spain. In this very chol, we spoke French and during beautiful city, the Jews enjoyed Photo by R’ A. Dworetsky limudei kodesh, we spoke Ivrit. an amazing life and the communi- So, I spoke Spanish, French and ty attended to their needs in very Hebrew, but no English. special ways. There was a Jew- ish hospital, the Ben-Shimol Hos- Furthermore, we did not speak pital. The poor received food, Yiddish, and when we arrived in clothing, and shelter, and there Toronto, we couldn’t communi- was even a doctor who visited the cate with the Jews in the city. This sick in their homes. For everyone language barrier also affected our who lived in Tangiers, there was a Photos by Rabbi A. Dworetsky through that crowd of relatives fathers and prevented them from lot of chesed readily available, and friends. It was a special sight we have difficulty reaching today. finding suitable jobs. For many and there was also a great to see – Jews of all ages coming Moroccan families, this situation amount of serious Torah learning. together. We really felt that we They lived in poverty, with gruel- was extremely stressful, just as it There was a yeshiva and Kollel, were in a completely Jewish city. ing difficulties at times, but never- was for the hundreds of immigrant established by the talmidim of theless they were such maamin- families who arrived from Europe. Rav Elya Lopian zt”l, both named Can the Rav tell us about his im! I remember my grandfather Eitz Chaim after his Yeshiva in parents? going to sleep at eight o‘clock As well, I had to get used to the London, as well as an outstanding when the night just began. Then, Ashkenazi pronunciation of Ivrit, seminary where girls throughout My parents were born in Tangiers he woke up at midnight to say and at first, I couldn’t even follow Morocco came to learn. and came from very frum families. tikun hatzot, learned throughout the reading of the Gemara. Then, In May, the body of my great- the night, davened vatikin in the our teachers translated the Ge- We had many shuls and batei grandfather was moved from morning – and this is what most mara into English and I was still at medrash, throughout the city. On Tangiers to Eretz Yisroel, and his simple Moroccan Jews did. a disadvantage because I didn’t a small alleyway called Rue des body was preserved in the way know English. Synagogues just off the main that Chazal tell us regarding tza- I was fortunate to be born into a street, there were seven shuls. dikim. His generation was remark- family that appreciated Torah. My Another major problem was the Every door was a shul! They’re able. Even those people who parents sent me to Otzar HaTo- climate. We came from a hot still there today, although the were not talmidei chachamim had rah, the private school in country, and you know what To- shuls no longer exist. Imagine a tremendous level of yirat sha- Tangiers. For half the day, we ronto weather is and isn’t. To walking home on Shabbat, mayim, emunah and bitachon that learned limudei kodesh and - continued on Page 10 Let’s Talk Tachlis _______ 2 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779 An Open and Shut Case By Rabbi Mendel Bornstein Principal, General Studies Ask an electrician. Ask a plumber, a car mechanic, or even a medical doctor. They will all agree. Never attempt to fix anything until you have ascertained what’s wrong. Always establish first and repair later. Is it a faulty switch or a shorted wire? Is it a worn washer or is the faucet kaput? Is the creepy rattling sound a case of bad brake pads or a total disinte- gration of the ball bearings? Are the patient’s symptoms indicative of heart trouble or a bout with the flu? It is always imperative to diag- nose first and treat afterward. Artwork by Baruch Kamenetzky, Class of 2018 Straying from this order of opera- tions is unwise, and can be coun- upon as an opportunity, a rung on the aperture and reclosed it with alone do not suffice to alleviate terproductive, or downright dan- the ladder, to reach the lofty the same conclusiveness. A loud, the shame incurred. The guilty gerous. heights they seek to attain. They ringing, slapping sound resonated party will remunerate the litigant scrutinize their faults with a fine throughout the synagogue, as if with a payment of one thousand In the realm of tikkun hamiddos, tooth comb, and are quick to ac- force would settle the issue per- dollars.” The saint paused and improving one’s spiritual attrib- cept blame, even if their guilt is manently. An astonishing commo- cried out. “I, I alone, am the guilty utes, it is no different. First you miniscule. They never stray from tion ensued. What a desecration! party. My prayers are very long identify the fault and then initiate the truth. They are also artists of a A physical blow had been deliv- and tiring. If they would be shorter the necessary steps to amend the sort, artists at minimizing the ered in the holy bais medrash! In it would not be too hot or too cold deficiency. Just as a physician faults of their comrades and max- no time the Tosher Rebbe zt”l for any of you. It must be my pray- cannot diagnose an illness without imizing their own shortcomings. himself interrupted his fiery pray- ers that are in need of repair, for the pertinent information, so a ers and rushed to separate the otherwise how could such a ca- man cannot begin to rectify him- It is not difficult to discern who is combatants. The entire assem- lamity befall my congregation dur- self without acknowledgment of who in this potpourri. One is on a blage stood in awe as the saint ing them? I am therefore obligated what he is lacking. dynamic spiral upward, while his raised up his hand signaling eve- to pay the fine. Now that justice counterpart is relegated to a static ryone to stop instantly. has been served, this case and all and stagnant spiritual existence, “Everything stays as it is. Tomor- discussions surrounding it will Unfortunately, this runs counter to resistant to change. row I will convene a din Torah, but cease. Nothing more shall be human nature. There is a sort of for now everything stays exactly heard of this issue. The court re- safety valve intrinsically linked to The Baal Shem Tov zt”l taught as it is.” quests that the two parties shake the critical instinct of self- preser- that everything one sees or hears hands as the dispute has been vation. This instinct beckons man is a communication from Hashem. The next day dawned, and true to suitably adjudicated.” to absolve himself of guilt. We It is a direct message regarding his word, the rebbe swiftly sum- rationalize the lack of piety in our something that needs repair or moned two dayanim to his abode. True to the precepts of the Baal actions, or we admit to our errors, improvement. He explained that As a triumvirate, they were to pre- Shem Tov, the tzaddik saw the but mitigate the evil in our intent. even when one sees a sin being side over the din Torah. altercation as a sign of something We may even engage in untruths committed, it is a call from Above remiss in his own avoda. The to protect our image, or we pass that he must put himself in order, The two litigants arrived and each world at large was awed by the the buck.
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