Let’s Talk Tachlis ______Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779

בס''ד

A Publication of Yesodei HaTorah General Studies Department Our Interview with Assayag Haham Amram Assayag has learning in meant that been a 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 - 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 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, , 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 learning. together. We really felt that we They lived in poverty, with gruel- was extremely stressful, just as it There was a yeshiva and , 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 , 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. 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 , 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 , 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 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 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. In plain English, that that he is in some sense associat- one staked his claim. “It was very length and intensity of his fervent means shifting the blame onto ed with that transgression. hot and stuffy, and everyone prayers, but he himself was con- someone else, thereby shielding needed the fresh air. If he can’t vinced they had not met our own persona of any culpabil- It was frigid outside and a bit stand it, he should pray else- Hashem’s expectations. ity. These strategies can some- stuffy inside. A young man in the where,” claimed the first petitioner. times be very efficient, but they shul opened the window for a Such is the path of the saintly. In are not the route to self improve- breath of brisk, fresh air. A mo- “I am praying here for twenty this fashion they truly inspire oth- ment, and assuredly not the path ment later an older gentleman years, much before this insolent ers by their actions, as well as by of the just. How sad, for admission walked over and deftly closed the character arrived; why should I go their words. We can choose to be of guilt is a prerequisite to repent- window. A few minutes later the away? He can leave!” protested inspired as well, and begin our ance and revival. young man returned and reo- his counterpart. upward trek to refine ourselves pened the window, but just as both bein adam lamokom and In contrast, it is the way of the soon as he left, his nemesis The holy man conferred with the bein adam l’chaveiro. It seems righteous to suppress those very closed the window again. The dayanim and issued the decision: that in the heavenly tribunal the same innate desires in their quest young congregant returned quick- “Whatever the rationale, there is defendant’s plea of guilty effects a to achieve perfection. Shame, ly to reopen it and stood on guard verdict of not guilty. humiliation, disgrace and embar- nearby, as if to make a statement no justification for striking your rassment are not viewed as taboo. of finality. Quite undaunted, his fellow man. Accordingly, an apolo- Wishing you all a kesiva v’chasi- To the contrary, they are looked opponent stationed himself next to gy is in order. However, words ma tova for a shana tova.

Let’s Talk Tachlis ______3 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779

The Candlesticks

By Yosef Krupnik, out. When he got to the bor- Grade 7 der, he convinced the Russian authorities that they had no Every erev Shabbos value. The authorities were my mother lights candle- suspicious. They broke one sticks that are over 100 candlestick in half to see if years old. Here is the story there were any diamonds in it. behind these two candle- Finally, after such a long time, sticks. the candlesticks were on their My great-great- way to . The problem grandmother, Malka Kalik, was that by that time we were a’h, used to light two can- already in Canada. dlesticks every week from My grandparents decided to the time of her wedding. bring them here and to give Then, under the com- them to my parents. When we munists, it became really got them, we saw that one hard for the Jews in Russia. was broken. So we fixed it She used to quietly daven temporarily. While looking at by the candles every Friday these candlesticks, my father night, probably that her recalled watching his grand- children and grandchildren mother, Esther, lighting these should light these candle- exact candlesticks decades sticks as she did. After she before. Finally the long await- died, my great- ed moment came. The Friday grandmother, Esther, in- afternoon after getting the herited the candlesticks candlesticks, my father pre- and lit them every week. Illustration by Aryeh Lindo, Grade 7 pared the candles for my Esther would cry and daven every week just like her mother to light. When my mother finally lit them, we saw mother. Esther moved to a different town with the can- her wax and the wax of my great-grandmother melting dlesticks, but died soon. The candlesticks were not lit for together. The Jewish nation is forever! many years. A few years later, my great-great-aunt (Malka’s These candlesticks went through a lot: the First daughter) came to visit our family. She saw the candle- World War, the Second World War and communism. Af- sticks and said that they looked very similar to her moth- ter a few decades, my family moved from Russia to Israel er’s. We told her to sit down and slowly broke the unex- and wanted to take the candlesticks along, but the Soviet pected news to her-they were her mother’s! Everyone in government did not let us take them. After, we moved to the room including my great-great-aunt was extremely Canada we thought that the candlesticks were lost. A overcome with emotions. The candlesticks had come full friend of my grandparents told us that he would try get- circle. ting them out for us. He decided to try smuggling them

Let’s Talk Tachlis ______4 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779 Travels in the U.S.S.R. Toronto’s Rabbi Shlomo Noach Mandel has the zechus of having been among the early group of North American rabbanim who traveled to the Soviet Union to spread Torah. Over the span of many years and numerous trips, Rabbi Mandel helped those Yid- den struggling to maintain their Yiddishkheit by giving shiurim, delivering seforim, tefillin and oth- er helpful items and, perhaps most of all, giving them chizuk by letting them know that their fellow Yidden outside of the Soviet Un- ion cared about them. Here is Part 1 of our interview with Rabbi Man- del. Stay tuned for Part 2 in the ever allowed to leave Mitzrayim. rah. There was no such thing as next issue. Can the Rav please give us The Soviet Union, especially in yeshivos, or chadarim, because it some of the history of Soviet the years I went, was very, very was illegal. And even though they Transcribed by: Doniel Recht- Jewry? closed, and it wasn’t possible to had shuls, only the old people shaffen, Grade 8, and Men- freely leave the country. You were allowed to come to shuls. If achem Gottlieb, Aharon You all know that there is a coun- couldn’t leave without a visa. younger people came to shul they Schwartz, Menashe Beck, Ariel try called Russia. For the last few When Yidden would apply for would also lose their jobs. You Shukroon, Grade 7 hundred years, if not 1,000 years, visas to leave the country, they see this picture? It’s in a shul in there were many Yidden who were refused. Those people be- Moscow. Over here is R’ Avraham Where was the Rav born, and lived in Russia. The country was came known as “refuseniks,” be- Meller, who was a tamid of the where did the Rav go to yeshiva? ruled by a king who was called the cause not only were they refused Chofetz Chaim. This is R’ Reuven czar. It comes from the word with respect to leaving the coun- Zytchek. He was a talmid of the I was born in Cleveland and “caesar” – which was the name of try, but as soon as they applied Alter of Novardok. And this was a learned in the Telshe Yeshivah the king where? That’s right, in they would lose their jobs and Lubavitcher chassid. There was and here in Kollel Avreichim. the Roman empire. The name of became unemployed. It was a one Yid in the shul that used to the king in Germany was also really terrible time for the Yidden. walk around; I don’t want to men- Where were the Rav’s parents from the same word, but there it tion his name. He’s not alive any- from? was “kaiser.” The Russians didn’t How did the Rav get involved more, but he looked like a like the Yidden at all. They were with Soviet Jewry? chashuv talmid chocham. He ac- My parents, aleihem hashalom, always persecuting the Yidden. tually learned in Slabodka Yeshi- were born in a country which They also didn’t like Yiddeshkheit; As I mentioned, I learned in va, but this person used to take doesn’t exist any more, which was they did whatever they could to Telshe. The night of Kol Nidrei in note of everybody who came to called Czechoslovakia. Czecho- wipe it out. Starting at the turn of yeshiva, you can imagine, is a the shul. He would then hand the slovakia was created in 1918 after the 20th Century, from 1905-1907, very solemn, very hisorerusdege names to the secret police, so it World War I. It was a few coun- there were a lot of people who time. We always had a schmooze was very dangerous to go. tries put together, mainly the tried to overthrow the Russian from the Rosh Yeshivah, and after Czech Republic and Slovakia. government and the czar. Eventu- the schmooze everybody said a So we all felt like we wanted to do After the fall of communism in the ally, near the end of World War I, kapitel Tehillim for the sake of the something. We were davening for 1990s, it disintegrated into smaller in February and in November of Yidden in the Soviet Union. They them all the time. There was a countries, so it doesn’t exist any- 1917, there was a revolution were behind what was called the Yid, Rav Yosef Mendelevich who more. My father, a’h, was born in against the czar. It went through Iron Curtain. It was given that was actually in jail in Russia for a city called Stropcov, which is various stages, but eventually the name by Winston Churchill, be- trying to hijack a Russian plane now in Slovakia. My mother, a’h, party that came out on top was cause nobody could get through with other Refuseniks and fly it to was born in a small village near called the Communist Party. They the border to leave those com- Israel in 1970. The way he got out Munkatch, and today it’s part of a created a new entity called the munist countries. During the 70 of jail had to do with the fact that country called Ukraine. I will tell Union of Soviet Socialist Repub- years that the Soviet Union exist- the Russians and the Americans you something interesting about lics, and that took over all of what ed, Yidden outside that country used to trade spies. They had Czechoslovakia. The Munkatcher used to be Russia and many other were davening all the time for the people spying on each other’s Rebbeh, who was called the Min- countries. The first leader was a Yidden inside. During those Kol country and they would some- chas Elazar after the sefer he person named Vladimir Lenin. Nidrei nights at the yeshiva, after times get caught, so the govern- wrote, made a huge chasunah for After he died, it was taken over by we said the kapitel Tehillim, we ments would trade them back for his one and only daughter, and a person named Yosef Stalin. In said a special yehi ratzon, which each other. Mendelevich was re- big government people came. He America, they say Joseph Stalin was written by the Chofetz leased as part of such a trade in was close to the president of (everywhere, they say “Yemach Chaim. The Chofetz Chaim was 1981. When he came out, he went Czechoslovakia. I once heard that Shemo”). He was the head of the still alive when the Soviet Union to Israel and visited the Gedolim, at the chasunah, the Rebbeh said Soviet Union. was formed. He wrote a special and he said: you should know that to the government people that tefillah to daven for the ability of there are many baalei teshuvah Czechoslovakia isn’t a real coun- Really, in a lot of ways, the Soviet Yidden who lived in the Soviet learning Torah secretly, and they try. He said that every country has Union became like Mitzrayim. In Union, that they should be able to need teachers. Starting in the a malach, and Czechoslovakia fact, the gematria of Mitzrayim is learn Torah and to daven, which early 1980s, The Vaad L’Hatzalas doesn’t have one. His words were the same roshei teivos, in Lashon they weren’t allowed to do. Not Nidchei Yisrael of America, led by borne out, because that country Kodesh of the USSR : 380. only couldn’t they leave, but it was Rabbi Mordechai Neustadt, some only existed for a few years. Chazal tell us that no eved was also against the law to teach To- people in Eretz Yisroel, and a

Let’s Talk Tachlis ______5 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779 group in England led by Mr. Ernie Hirsch, all KGB now they’re called the FSB. In the time the government of those days forced every- started to send rabbonim to teach Torah. We of Lenin, it was called the NKVD, with a spe- body to pray for his wellbeing. They sent the went like we were tourists, but when we went, cial Jewish branch call the Yevsektzia or Jew- secret police to check up on both the non- we brought with us many pairs of tefillin. ish division. It happened that Moshe Abromov Jews and the Yidden to see if they were When they asked us at the border, “Why do got into a shichshuch, a fight, with the rosh davening for the czar. So the Yidden davened you need so many pairs of tefillin?” We said, hakohol, and they were pushing each other kapitel kuf-tes, that he should drop dead. And “Well, we need one for Shabbos, we need one around. I know the boys here would never do the secret police came back and they said that for Yom Tov, we need one for Sunday, one for such a thing. They got into such a shichshuch of all the people, the Yidden were davening Tuesday...” We brought many tefillin, we that the rosh hakohol immediately said, “Oh, the best, davening the hardest. So that was brought sidurim, and chumashim, and kosher this is what I have been waiting for!” He had the story with Moshe Abramov, and today he’s food. On one trip I brought shechitah knives, him arrested and they put him in jail. a Rav in Queens. because people were learning how to do she- chitah. Today you really wouldn’t try to get on So the first time that I went, in 1984, before Who else in Toronto was involved in this an airplane with a huge schitah knife. They we were going to leave, one of the baaleh work? would unravel these knives and ask, “What is teshuvah said to me, “Moshe Abromov’s trial it for?” I would say it was for cheese. We is going to be in one week, and all the baaleh Some are even zaides of boys who are in this made up stories, and that’s how we went. teshuvah in Russia are going to fast and make room. Moishe Friedman, who I mentioned, a yom hatefilla for him. When you go back to actually sat in jail for a few hours. He was in I went for my very first time in 1984. Some America, can you ask all the in Leningrad when the KGB chapped him. They other people from Toronto went, like Rabbi America to fast and to daven for Moshe took him away and they put him in jail. The Tzvi Tress and Rabbi Moishe Friedman. A Abramov?” So when I came back home the KGB official who arrested him looked a lot like number of people from Toronto went, and first thing I did was to call Rabbi Sherer, the Vladimir Putin, who was a KGB official in Len- Rabbi Feigenbaum went before me (although head of the Agudas Yisroel, and tell him ingrad at the time, so he still wonders if it was he was based in Israel at that time). When we about the request. He said we had to call him. Personally, I was never caught, B’H. I went to teach, we went from group to group, from person to person. We couldn’t actually Left to Right: Rav Avraham Meller Rosh Hayeshiva and teacher of the early baalei go to their house, because their houses were teshuva, (Talmid of Chofetz Chaim); Reb Chanya Yom Tov Lipa; Reb Getzel (Getchya) watched by the secret police. So we would Velensky; Reb Rueven Zytchek (Talmid of the Alter from Novardok) meet them in subway stations, and they would take us to places where they would have a . Nobody would ever have guessed that a shiur was going on. We went to a , and at that time it was a very major crime to have a cheder. As bad as it was considered to teach older people Torah, it was even worse to teach children. Anyway, what they would do was pretend they were having a youth group or a pirchei where they were playing games, and they would keep their seforim hidden. When people would come in to teach, they would teach, and when people knocked on the door, all of a sudden the games would come out and the seforim would go underneath.

Who are some of the interesting people the Rav Yaakov. So Rabbi Sherer called Rav was almost interrogated once by the KGB. Rav met in the Soviet Union? Yaakov Kamenetzky. He said no, we couldn’t make a taanis, because it would take away There was another important person that got I mentioned R’ Avraham Meller, the talmid of from the learning, but everybody should say a involved from here in Toronto: somebody the Chofetz Chaim. He had many divrei torah kapitel Tehillim, and that’s what happened. I named Reb Yissacher Dov Reichmann. Some that he learned from the Chofetz Chaim, some remember we did it here in Toronto at the people know him as Mr. Albert Reichmann, of which he shared with me. He himself taught Kollel. When Rabbi Sherer asked Rav Yaa- and some people know him as Berry Reich- the first generation of Refuseniks, and a lot of kov which kapitel everyone should say, Rav mann. In the late 1980s, some of us went over these people were heroes. Let me tell you a Yaakov said kapitel kuf-tes (Psalm 109). That to him with lists of Refusniks. He is a busi- story, sort of connected. There was one of surprised us. It wasn’t the one we were ex- nessman, and in those days he was very well these talmidim, whose name was Moshe pecting. We were davening for Moshe know and had very good connections with the Abramov. He was learning how to be a Abramov and the words we were saying were Canadian government. The leader of the Sovi- shochet. R’ from Baltimore “He should have only a few days, somebody et Union, Mikhael Gorbachev was interested went a few times himself, and while he was else should take his job, his children should in meeting with Mr. Reichmann, because he there he trained shochtim and gave them ka- be orphans, and his wife should be a widow.” wanted people to come do business in Rus- balah for shechitah. Some of them are still We’re wondering, “What kind of a tefillah is sia. So Mr. Reichmann became friendly with shechting today, and the main shochet in this to help somebody get out of jail?” It didn’t Gorbachev. The business there wasn’t really Moscow received his first kabalah from HaRav seem to make any sense. A week later I important to Mr. Reichmann, but what was Moshe Heinemann 45 years ago. So Moshe made a phone call. In those days, you couldn’t important to him was that once he started to Abramov was a shochet, and he lived in a city just pick up the phone to call Russia. You had come he could help the Yidden. You see, in called Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which used to be to book the call a week in advance. So I final- my suitcase I could bring a few salamis and a part of the Soviet Union. He learned how to be ly called to find out what happened at the trial few pairs of tefillin. Mr. Reichmann went in his a shochet, and he was shechting, because of Moshe Abramov. They told me, “The own airplane, and on his airplane he could put there were baalei teshuvah starting to keep strangest thing happened: the chief witness photocopy machines and sifrei Torah, and he kosher, and they needed food. As I said earli- against him died suddenly the day of the trial.” could put in whatever he wanted. Because he er, there were some bad people in the shuls, Rabbi Sherer called Rav Yaakov to tell him was friendly with the Gorbachev it all went and one of those bad people was actually the what happened and ask how the Rav knew through without being stopped. rosh hakohol, the head of the community, and which kapitel to say. Rav Yaakov said, “Now [To be continued next issue. Meanwhile, he was really a spy for the secret police. In my let me tell you a story.” He said that there was see next page for the story of Mr. Albert day, the secret police there were called the a time once when the czar got very sick and Reichmann!]

Let’s Talk Tachlis ______6 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779 Rising to the Challenge

Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, ney, “Who is your friend who when the Soviet Union was a jail asked you to give me this letter?” to so many Jews, Mr. Albert He told him. Mr. Gorbachev said, Reichmann helped change the “Why don’t you ask Mr. Reich- situation in ways which, in retro- mann to talk to me personally?” spect, seem to border on the The next day, I spoke to the miraculous. Through years of prime minister, who told me what work and very personal involve- he had said. I said, “Okay, I’ll go ment, he not only helped to free to Moscow.” many of the “Refuseniks” but also made it possible to start First I needed a visa, and I didn’t openly building up Yiddishkheit in have one. Some people waited Russia and other former Soviet years to get a visa, but the same Union countries. The resources day Gorbachev gave instructions he has put into the cause are to the embassy, and I got my enormous, and the physical visa in one day. I went to Mos- stamina he found within himself cow. I didn’t know exactly what I on his trips to personally meet would do there, but I went. with and help the Yidden of Rus- sia was incredible. Yet, the most He was very friendly to me. I told amazing part of the story is his him what I wanted. He started to thinking throughout the process: make excuses and to say that it’s at first, the thought that he must nothing against the Jews; they try to help, even though the situ- just didn’t want smart and experi- ation looked impossible, and enced people to leave the coun- then, later, the realization – one try. I said, “That sounds like a which few other people would good reason, but then why does have had – of just how auda- a Jew lose his job as soon as he cious he could and must be. Photo by R’ Avrohom Dworetsky applies to leave? How is it help- ing you to keep them here if Transcribed by: Shlomo From Spain, we went to Moroc- When did you arrive in Toronto these smart people are not al- Elimelech Paretzky, Menachem co. We stayed there during the and what was the city like lowed to work?” Gottlieb, Menashe Beck, and war and for some years after the when you first came? Aharon Schwartz, Grade 7 war before coming to Canada. It I went several more times to was a long trip. My brothers arrived in 1949 and Moscow to meet him. Whenever Where were you born? 1950. I stayed in Morocco until I went, it was covered by Rus- What are your memories of the 1959, because we had a busi- sian television and radio. At that I was born in Vienna, Austria. My city of Tangiers? ness there. In 1956, I came for time, it was a priority for Gorba- parents, A”H, were from Hunga- the first time to Canada, to visit chev to open up the Soviet Union ry, but the family was living in Tangiers was a very nice place. and to see what I could do here. economically and to do business Vienna when I was born. We were grateful to be there. It What was it like? There was less with the West. That’s why he was really the only safe place we Yiddeshkeit. We were very well ordered news coverage of a Can you tell us about escaping could go at that time and we received here, but there weren’t Western businessman coming to from Europe? were very fortunate to get there. so many Torah institutions like Russia; he was trying to show In Tangiers we didn’t suffer. the city has now. that this was happening. My parents and my three oldest People were very welcomed siblings were not in Vienna when there, both by the Yidden and the How did you first become in- I understood what he was trying the Germans marched in. They Arabs. volved in the cause of the So- to do to modernize his country were on a trip to at that viet Jews? and I believed that he was sin- time. The three younger ones, Can you tell us about the cere in his efforts. I was recep- myself and two brothers, were in efforts your family made, led They needed help. tive to the idea of working with Vienna with an aunt. I remember by your mother, to send him – not because it was a big looking out the window of our packages from Tangiers to the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev priority for me to do business in apartment and seeing the - Yidden still trapped in Europe? was coming to Canada, so peo- Russia but because I knew it mans come. It was on Shabbos. I ple asked me to talk to Canadian would give me opportunities to was nine years old – too young Tangiers had a special status as Prime Minister Brian Mulroney help the Yidden there if Gorba- to really understand the danger. an international city, and and ask him to give Mr. Gorba- chev valued my presence. because of that we were able to chev a letter about the Refuse- On Sunday, we left from Vienna. send food packages to the niks [for an explanation of the I was also able to do some work From there we went to several concentration camps. That went term “Refusenik”, see our inter- as a peace-maker between the countries. One of them was Hun- on during the war and for about view with Rabbi Mandel, Page 4]. Americans and the Russians. gary, where we stayed for two two or three years after the war. The Prime Minister said to me, “I The Americans weren’t sure years. After that we went to Many thousands of packages can try, but they usually just tell what to think about Gorbachev’s France, via Switzerland and Italy. were sent. We, the children, me, ‘These are Russian internal steps toward economic open- From France, after two months, were all involved in working on affairs. Don’t get involved.’” But ness. Some of [the elder] Bush’s because the Germans came this. as it happens, when he came, advisors thought it was some there also, we went to Spain. Mr. Gorbachev asked Mr. Mulro- kind of trick by the Russians. I Let’s Talk Tachlis ______7 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779 told the Americans that I believed him I wanted to go to the Refuse- with them, I gained influence that ing Jewish schools. I asked more Gorbachev meant it and that I niks. They were known, the Re- I could use to help the Yidden. questions and he said maybe I was willing to do business there. fuseniks. So he said, “What are There was a time when they should talk to the education min- So the Russians were happy that you going to do with them?” I wanted to refuse a visa for some- ister. I said, “Okay, how do I get I was coming there. said, “I’ll see what I can do to body to go to Russia, and I to him?” So Gorbachev took the help them.” talked to the ambassador and I phone and dialed. I don’t know The Jews of Russia had a benefit got him the visa. Actually, there exactly what he said, because he from seeing me in the news cov- I was very straightforward about was another case where my was speaking in Russian, not in erage: when they saw me on it. I realized that because Gorba- daughter Breindy (Koenig) was Lashon HaKodesh, but he did television I was always wearing chev wanted me there, I was in a with me, and she invited a girl, a get me an appointment with the my yarmulke. They would see position where I had a certain Refusenik named Chany education minister. The educa- someone go into the office of the degree of immunity from the usu- Shteingart, to come to her wed- tion minister gave me the same chairman of the Soviet Union al lower-level government har- ding. The Russians didn’t want to story, that it wasn’t against the wearing a yarmulke, where nor- assment. This meant I could help issue a visa for her. They gave law. So we made a school. mally people would take off their the Yidden openly. That made a me an excuse that they don’t Those conversations with Gorba- hats. When I visited politicians in big difference, because I could allow a girl under the age of 18 to chev and the minister were on a the West, I generally didn’t make accomplish much more that way leave the country alone. I said, Thursday, and by Sunday the a show of displaying my yarmul- than if I were trying to do things “So let her mother come, and school was running, B’H. ke, but there I mamash wanted secretly. So I saw that there was she won’t be alone.” In the end to demonstrate it. a special opportunity at that mo- they were shlepping the time Can you tell us about bringing ment. back and forth, and they refused Canadian Prime Minister Brian In Canada, I preferred to stay out to issue the visa. So I told them, Mulroney to the yeshivah in of the news, but in Russia there With a lot of Siyata Dishmaya, “Okay, thank you very much, but Moscow? was a purpose to go along with everything works. you won’t see me again in Rus- it. All this coverage in the Rus- sia. I won’t come again.” They It was an important moment. It sian press made it easier to help Can you tell us about getting changed their mind and called sent a signal that a Western the Yidden. The better all the Zev Raize, the longest stand- me that I should go there, and leader would visit a yeshiva in government officials understood ing Refusenik, out of the Sovi- they would let the girl go. They Russia. Sometimes it was also that Gorbachev wanted me et Union? wanted me to come Erev Shab- important to get the Russians to there, the more I could do. bos. I explained that I could only officially acknowledge the exist- He was one of the first Refuse- come Sunday. They accepted ence of something. If they had to When did you first start to be- niks that I went to visit. I made a that. All one has to do is try. become involved in something, it lieve you could make a differ- point of visiting him, because I was harder for them to just make ence to the Refuseniks? knew that the Russians didn’t like What, specifically, did Gorba- it vanish one night. In this case, him. I met him many times. The chev ask you to speak to Pres- the Russians were pressuring The Refuseniks were the reason KGB didn’t fight me. Zev Raize ident Bush about? Mulroney not to attend this event I got involved. I wasn’t otherwise was one of the last Refuseniks at the yeshiva, but it was very planning to do business there, they were holding onto, and They were going to meet on an hard for him to refuse me. The but as soon as Gorbachev was when they finally did let him out, I island called Malta, and Gorba- event was not on the official itin- willing to talk to me, I had an idea flew into Moscow to pick him up, chev wanted help financially – erary, and Mulroney said he that we would work hard to do and took him out with his son. He not in terms of giving them pre- couldn’t change the official itiner- whatever we could. I wasn’t sure still couldn’t believe it was hap- sents but in other ways. One ary that the host country gave at first how much I’d be able to pening. Even when we got onto idea I gave them, which wouldn’t him. I said to him, “So come un- do, but if you don’t try, you can’t the plane, he thought that it cost the Americans any money, officially with me as a friend.” He have it. Boruch Hashem we had would be shot down, because he was just to give confidence to had no choice. Joe Clark, the Siyata Dishmaya. didn’t believe the KGB would American investors that nothing Canadian foreign minister asked ever let him go. they invest in will be confiscated me to give in and forget about it. It was the same with the food by the Russian government. I said to the prime minister, “I’m packages to the concentration How were you able to do these They made a press conference not sure what it will mean to the camps: many people didn’t try, things? together, Gorbachev and Bush, Russians, but it will mean a lot because they thought it was im- and they did that. It was just an for your reputation if you do this.” possible. After the war, we had Not only in Russia, but also in idea I had; it wasn’t tested be- thousands of letters from people the United States, somehow I got fore. B”H, he did it. He came with a who told us they survived the war very well-known. So Gorbachev big limousine and motorcade. He because of those packages. asked me, for instance, to talk to So, in a way, you had a cheilek even made an unplanned speech President Bush, the first Presi- in the fall of the Iron Curtain. at the event saying that the gov- Did you meet directly with Yid- dent Bush. Some people might ernment of Canada respected den in Russia also? think I was misled by the Rus- No, I don’t think... maybe, in these religious Jews in the Soviet sians, but when I dealt with Gor- some way. But the Iron Curtain Union and wished them success. Yes. The way it happened was bachev and some of his top offi- was falling already. They really That was reported in the press. that I intentionally met with the cials, I believed they were decent needed the American help in And, you know, it did help the Jews – and I knew that the KGB people. They had a certain poli- economic development. prime minister in Ottawa, where was following me. The Russians cy, they had a certain way of life. he was seen as courageous. gave me a car to use, with a They were communists. But they Can you tell us about getting chauffeur who was obviously a wanted to improve the country’s permission from Gorbachev to What advice can you give the KGB agent. From the time I ar- situation and they were willing to set up schools to teach Torah? boys on how to live a life of rived at the airport, I never had to learn from me and from other achievement? go through customs, or immigra- people who came from the out- I asked Gorbachev if he would tion. They had a car waiting for side – I wasn’t the only one who give an order allowing us to do it. The general idea is: work hard me with a chauffeur and an inter- came. So he told me that he could not and be ehrlich. preter also. He asked me, give such an order, because “Where do you want to go?” I told Because I was willing to work there was no law against open- Let’s Talk Tachlis ______8 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779 The Thrill of the Quill

Photo by Pinny Rothstein Rabbi Zvi Akiva Fleisher has been for a block of leather. with safrus, he “took to it like a also does sales. a Sofer Stam for almost 40 years. fish to water,” says Rav Fleisher. So experienced is he that the Now, before we speak more about The person who taught Rav When Rav Fleisher checks tefillin number of times he’s checked a safrus, let’s back up and find out a Fleisher the manual skills (skills of and mezuzos he has to be a bit of mezuzah is even greater than the bit about Rav Fleisher. the hands) was a chassid in New a detective, examining anything number of Bar that Rab- York named Rav Boruch Green- that looks unusual. For example, bi Asher Bornstein has attended – Back to the beginning feld. But being a sofer also means when a sofer writes tefillin or me- which is saying a mouthful. By zuzos, he has to write in order, Rav Fleisher was born in a DP knowing the halachos. So he used now, he’s just about seen it all. otherwise what he’s writing could (displaced persons) camp in to send his questions to HaRav We asked Rabbi Fleisher to come become posul. Rav Fleisher has Marktoberdorf, Germany. His par- Shmuel Wosner zt”l. Another in to tell us about his work, show techniques which, at least in some ents were originally from Poland who he’d ask was his Rosh us some of the materials he uses cases, allow him to detect such a but ended up in this camp after Yeshiva, HaRav Yaakov Kame- and answer some questions. He problem. You also have to know a the war. Until third grade, Rav netzky zt”l. Rav Kamenetzky also did. Here’s what we found out. gave him a type of semicha, lot of halacha. To succeed as a Fleisher went to a public school in sofer, says Rav Fleisher, “You south New Jersey, since there called hoda’ah in this area, and a By Dovid Weingarden, Grade 7 heter hora’ah, allowing him to need to pack a computer into your was no yeshiva and no transpor- head. And you need to keep that tation available to get to one else- pasken shailos in this field, which First: a story. An elderly Yid came he does for five local sofrim. computer running.” to Rabbi Fleisher holding a pair of where. Yet over half the children tefillin. “Could you check these?” there were from Jewish families Down to business A couple of astounding numbers he asked. Rav Fleisher took the and from Polish background. rd tefillin and saw right away that When he was in 3 grade, trans- Rav Fleisher seldom writes his So far in his career, Rav Fleisher something was unusual. They portation became available, and own things. He realized early in has checked close to 100,000 didn’t look right. He opened them Rav Fleisher rode a bus for three his career that he wouldn’t be able mezuzos. There are more than up, in front of the man. Inside, and a half hours a day to get to a to make a parnasah from it. Over 5,000 different things that need to instead of parshios written on yeshiva ketanah in Vineland, New Rav Fleisher’s whole career, he be checked on a mezuzah, if you parchment, there was a block of Jersey. The menahel, Rabbi Bo- has only written two pairs of tefil- include all the potential problems leather. The old Yid saw this, and ruch Schwartz z’l, learned in Ye- lin, and fewer than ten mezuzos. for each letter. The most common he broke down crying. After a few shiva Torah Vodaas under HaRav Instead Rav Fleisher does proof- problem that disqualifies them is minutes, when he was able to , zt’l. reading. “The Kaf Hachaim says when two letters are touching compose himself, he told Rav you can’t use mezuzos, tefillin or each other. Another common Fleisher that when his father died From doodles to the real thing a sefer Torah unless an independ- problem is when components of a he and his brother fought “tooth- letter are not touching one anoth- Ever since Rav Fleisher was a kid ent person, other than the person and-nail” over who would get their er. That usually happens as a he used to doodle the Aleph Bais who wrote it, proofreads it,’” ex- father`s tefillin. In the end, being result of damage, and it can also in different fonts. It was innate plains Rav Fleisher. Checking is a older and stronger, he took the happen that the parts of a letter (just something inside him). And very time-consuming job, and one tefillin by force. He and his brother weren’t attached to begin with. when he started learning the ge- that requires a lot of concentra- never spoke again, and by now They crack as they get older, es- mara in Menachos which deals tion. It’s not a job a person can do his brother had died. And it was all when he’s sleepy. Rav Fleisher pecially in the tefillin shell

Let’s Talk Tachlis ______9 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779

was once asked to give a The surprises inside class at a non-Orthodox school. He asked Rabbi Shlo- Sometimes Rav Fleisher mo Miller if he was allowed to, opens up a mezuzah or tefillin and Rabbi Miller said that to to check it and finds some- teach them about this, he was thing surprising inside. For allowed. When Rav Fleisher example, he once opened a went, he asked the children, mezuzah case and found the “Why do we put a mezuzah on Aseres Hadibros printed on a our doorposts?” There were a piece of paper inside. “Now bunch of answers, but Rav the Aseres Hadibros are very Fleisher told them that he good,” says Rav Fleisher, “but would give them the best an- everything in its right place. swer: because Hashem said to On an aron kodesh, the do so. “The teacher almost Aseres Hadibros are perfect. fainted,” Rav Fleisher recalls. But inside a mezuza case...” It wasn’t a message to which Another time he opened a tefil- they were accustomed. lin shell rosh and there were no divisions inside; they were just chiseled on the outside to rosh, since the parshios are look as if there were divisions. folded, and also in a mezuzah, because the innermost part of Tools of the trade the roll is really tight. Rav Fleisher told us that he The straight truth about uses chicken feathers for whitewashing quills. He gets them for free from a place in downtown To- Another issue that can cause ronto. He’s not sure how many mezuzos to be pasul is if the he’s used over the years, but parchment was first white- he remembers having one that washed. When the hides are lasted about three years. He taken from animals, they are likes to keep his quills short, cleaned very well, but some- because otherwise they bump times there are areas that are into his chest while he’s trying still a little hairy and it’s very to write. “If you see a picture of hard to write on those. Or a sofer with a long quill,” says there could be areas that are a Rav Fleisher, “it’s just for show.” little oily, and it feels like writ- ing on glass. Some first smear …So the next time you kiss a whitewash over the parchment mezuzah, or see hagbah in to allow smoother writing. Most shul, just remember what we poskim hold that the white- learned from Rav Fleisher: wash is batul to the parch- “There’s more to safrus than ment, and it’s not a halachic just the written word!” problem. The practical prob- lem, however, is that the let- ters don’t soak into the parch- Photos by S. Glickstein ment when there’s whitewash, so they crack easily. shem, he has to say In real estate: location, loca- “leshaim kedushas Ha- tion, location. In Stam: ka- shem.” He has to sanctify vana, kavana, kavana. his work, and if he doesn’t, it could be a problem. Rav If the letters are printed by ma- Fleisher remembers the first chine, even if it’s on klaf, or if it time he wrote the Shem was written by a woman or a Hashem: “I was shaking, I child, it is not kosher. Also if it had to wait a while until my was written by a person who hand was steady.” doesn’t know the halachos, even though it could look An unexpected teaching beautiful, it is not kosher. moment When a sofer starts to write, Besides proofreading, Rav he must say, for example, Fleisher also taught appre- “leshaim kedushas mezuzah.” ciation of Stam to almost When he writes the Shem Ha- two thousand students. He

Let’s Talk Tachlis ______10 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779

word for word?” HaTorah riding the city bus. In Toronto, even bochurim don’t like Rabbi Assayag (cont’d) Now, let me clarify what Rav Mes- to ride the bus. sas meant. This dayan got the adapt to the Canadian winter was sonal matters. Several years ago, Halacha right – he properly under- Because Rav Chaim Shmulevitz a major struggle. I had the privilege to host him at stood the point in the Shulchan zt”l didn’t want anyone to drive my home in Toronto. We still talk Aruch and wasn’t making up any- him anywhere, I often saw him Where did the Rav learn? regularly on the phone, and when thing on his own. However, he did waiting for the bus – and it was a I’m in Eretz Yisroel, I spend time not quote the words precisely, beautiful sight to behold, a great In Tangiers, I went to Otzar Hato- and Rav Messas could not com- example of his simplicity. When rah. In Toronto, I went to Ner Yis- with him at his home. He is such a gentle person, a baal middot, the prehend such laxity. To him, eve- he got on the bus, everyone stood rael, and in Yerushalayim, to Beis ry word was Kodesh Kadashim, up – even the bus driver put on Hatalmud, and then I returned to kind of person you want to be close with. I feel very privileged to and I saw his consistent approach the handbrakes and stood up. the Ner Yisroel Kollel for a few while observing him during the And these weren’t all yeshiva years. All the places where I have this special relationship with HaRav Shlomo Amar, a Haham week he spent in my home. When people, and they weren’t even all learned are very special. I have a I knew he was going to be my frum. That image has always re- great deal of hakarot hatov for that Sephardim admire with great respect. guest, I prepared all kinds of mained with me! each one – for the learning and questions because his visit was for the care that I received. Can the Rav tell us about the my unique opportunity to be alone Because our yeshiva was beside time he spent with Rav Shalom with him. At that time, I was a the Mir, I would listen to Rav Can the Rav tell us about his Chaim’s mussar shmuzen every connection with Ner Yisroel Messas? young man and had only one set of . We were sit- week. In the summer, one didn’t Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Naftali When I was a little boy growing up need to go inside the building Freidler, zt”l? ting side by side, and as we in Tangiers, Rav Shalom Messas spoke, I took the Shulchan Aruch because there was a microphone Rav Freidler zt”l was a great man, zt”l was the Chief Rabbi of Moroc- – it was a big volume – and put it and speakers outside on the a gadol b’Yisroel, in every way – co and lived in Casablanca, so I between us. Because it was in- street. Everybody standing there not only in learning for which he never met him then. But in the convenient to share, he very po- could hear him. was renowned, but also in middot. early 1980s, when he came to litely pushed it toward me. And Toronto, I had the great zechut to At that time, Rav Nochum Part- He was a true talmid of Rav Eli- that’s when I realized that he did- zovitz zt”l, who was unable to yahu Dessler zt”l and we had a host him in my home for over a n’t need the Shulchan Aruch, be- week. During that time, we con- move around very well, lived on great zechut to have him as our cause he knew it all by heart! the ground floor, and one could Rosh Yeshiva. nected in an exceptional way, and This is the greatness of the man. remained in close contact. listen to his shiurim while standing My close relationship with him In time, I had the great zechut of close to the balcony. came about for two reasons. First- For many summers, Rav Mor- receiving smicha of dayanut from dechai Eliyahu zt”l arranged that I The Reichmann family, who do ly, when he arrived in Toronto, he Rav Messas, who tested me b’al so much for our school, had a came without his family. The Rav come to the beit din in peh and b’ctav. He never deviated Yerushalayim to learn. Then, he special relationship with the wanted to familiarize himself with from the established process. No Jews of Morocco. Can the Rav the yeshiva and the community allowed me to sit freely in the beit matter who you were, you still had din for about six summers. As a tell us about his relationship before he brought his family here to go through the system, take the with the Reichmann family? from England. His being alone result, every summer that I came bechinot and fulfill all the require- to Eretz Yisroel also gave me the gave some of us a wonderful op- ments. In many ways, I think Rav During the war, the whole family portunity to spend a lot of time opportunity to get closer to Rav Messas was the person who influ- Messas. When the beit din closed arrived in Tangiers which was an with him. On many Shabbatot, enced me the most. international city and easier to instead of going home, a few of at 1:00 pm, I spent the rest of the day with him. He showed me eve- Who are some of the other Ged- enter at that time. The people of the bochurim and I stayed with Tangiers greatly respected the him at the yeshiva. ry teshuva that he wrote, ex- olei Yisroel that the Rav had the plained all the work he put into opportunity to learn from? Reichmanns who were given the Secondly, when he arrived, I was each one, and often added, “I was honour of having their own shul. the head dormitory counselor. up all night writing.” I learned in Beis HaTalmud in As well, they had their own she- The Rosh Yeshiva had a keen Yerushalayim, and the Rosh Ye- chita and brought in their own interest in knowing everything Rav Messas had a phenomenal shiva was the great Gaon Rav shochet – a privilege given to no about every boy. Therefore I had koach for Halacha, and the daya- Berel Shwartzman zt”l, unques- one in the city, except the daya- the privilege of speaking with him nim relied on him for every difficult tionably one of the Gaonim of the nim. The Reichmanns created all the time to inform him about issue in the beis din. Even Rav generation. At that time, Bais their own community in Tangiers, the bochurim and the yeshiva. zt”l would send him HaTalmud had great Gedolim in and as a result, they always had challenging issues to deal with. Torah who were teaching us. Rav great hakarat hatov for Tangiers As well, the Rav served as the One day, I tested his patience and Moshe Shapiro zt”l who was just and all its Jews. Furthermore, it Rosh Kollel in Tangiers for a few asked, “Why do you need such niftar was one of the Gaonim in was from Tangiers that the elder months and although we never responsibilities?” He answered in Torah and machshava. Rav Mrs. Reichmann a”h operated her met at that time, we did share a choked voice, “My sister is an Ahron Feldman shlita, now the extensive chesed endeavors memories of the city. agunah, and I should go to Rosh Yeshiva of Baltimore, was throughout the war. When I returned from Eretz Yis- sleep?” He meant it, 1000%. This the mashgiach, and there was wasn’t the only time I saw him cry. also Rav Yochanan Zweig shlita, roel, I learned in Rav Freidler’s When the time came to establish Kollel for several years. I had the great zechut to spend now the Rosh Yeshiva in Miami. hours with him. All we talked Beis HaTalmud was one of the a Sephardic school in Toronto, I Does the Rav have a kesher about was Torah, nothing else. most flourishing yeshivas in the went to R’ Moshe Reichmann zt”l, with HaRav Shlomo Amar, the world. In those days, almost 50 who immediately understood my current Chief Sephardic Rav of One summer, he was in charge of years ago, it was next to the Mir request. We needed to establish Yerushalayim? checking the bechinot of the da- Yeshiva and we also had a lot of an elementary school that provid- yanim, and so I joined him as he interaction with everyone there. ed Sephardic children with a fa- HaRav Shlomo Amar shlita is a worked. I remember him getting miliar environment, a comfortable tremendous Gadol with a deep upset when a dayan quoted the One of the most surprising as- base that reflected their family Ahavat Yisroel. Our special rela- Shulchan Aruch inaccurately. Rav pects of learning in Eretz Yisroel, traditions and encouraged their tionship includes discussing is- Messas would say, “How can you from the perspective of an Ameri- growth in Torah and mitzvot. We sues of Halacha as well as per- be a dayan and not quote Maran can bochur, was seeing Gedolei believed that our school could

Let’s Talk Tachlis ______11 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779 provide this vital foundation and ensure that our children attended yeshivot, Jewish high schools and seminaries. That same day, he arranged a meeting of young baalei batim, appointed some of them to run the school, and provided them with the necessary funds. In our first year, we attracted many families whose children did not pay tuition – and we even sent a bus to pick them up for free. For years afterward, when I visit- ed R’ Moshe at his home during chol hamoed Pesach, he always took great interest in the school and inquired about its growth and the students. Then, we would share memories of Tangiers and so went our special relationship. Can the Rav tell us more about why he started the Ohr Haemet school? When Moroccan families were settling in Toronto, many children Photo by R’ A.D. weren’t able to go to a Jewish school because of their families’ well-acquainted with their min- one standard. dire financial situation. Attending trying to give our children a proper hagim and the seforim of their chinuch in a way that prevents public schools, since they are all great . Can the Rav share a lesson that free, became their first choice. becomes clear after dealing them from being influenced by the Children and their families were By knowing about each other’s with so many cases at the batei outside environment. At one time, becoming accustomed to a Jew- customs, we could better under- din? we were far more sheltered. We stand each other and appreciate stayed inside our batei , ish lifestyle very different from the In general, at dinei mamonot, one their ancestors experienced. our many similarities and few dif- our schools, and were not ex- ferences. Learning about Sephar- when two people get into an argu- posed to everything that was hap- We wanted Ohr Haemet to be a dim will still not allow Ashkenazim ment, there is a lack of hakarat pening around us. Today, our frum school where children to eat kitniyot on Pesach! hatov of what one did for the oth- biggest challenge is to be learned Torah, Halacha and min- er. This troubles us the most. You mechanech children considering hagim in the Sephardic tradition. We have the same Torah, the have the right to make a claim, to all they know and all that’s readily We explained to all parents that same Shulchan Aruch. The Rema say “You owe me money.” But available, especially technology. this school was a unique oppor- has notes on the Shulchan Aruch, you don’t have the right to deny We have to remain with the kedu- tunity for their children to learn but it’s the same Shulchan Aruch what was done and the good that sha of a Jew, the kedushah that a and to daven in the Sephardic for both of us. happened in the relationship. We young man has when he is sitting style, according to their customs all must learn that hakarat hatov and learning Torah. We have to For centuries, Sephardim have should never go away, even when and melodies. For example, their lived in far reaching countries, protect it. children would now be able to you are not happy with your part- from Morocco to India, in nations ner. People must treat each other Is there a particular mesachta sing throughout the entire daven- that span the world. Nevertheless, ing, as their parents and grand- with respect. As important as it is with which the Rav has a spe- throughout generations of disper- for the beit din to do justice, the cial relationship? parents do, and as Sephardim sions, expulsions and wars, we have done for generations. aim of the beit din is to bring sha- I have a special affinity for have preserved the same min- lom between the two parties. It’s important for everyone to hagim as our ancestors, down to Masechet Ketubot. When I first respect and value the minhagim the smallest details. And by still How has Toronto changed started in the rabbanut, I spent a of his parents and grandpar- practicing them today, we have since the Rav first arrived? great deal of time learning it be- maintained our unity. cause of its practical use. Chazal ents. At the same time, there is I came to Toronto before Kollel one Torah which Sephardim also tell us that this mashechta is What kind of issues does the Avreichim existed, so you can a katan. and Ashkenazim can and do Rav deal with on the Batei Din? imagine how different the city was learn together b’simcha. Can at that time. I still remember when What advice can the Rav give the Rav share with us his vi- I sit at all three batei din in Toron- it was established, and because I our talmidim on how to be sion, about how Sephardim and to, and my main occupation is, lived close by, I would go to the matzliach in their learning? Ashkenazim should ideally re- unfortunately, gitin, which occu- kollel on Caribou to hear the late to each other and to their pies two full days a week, if not When you learn Torah, you must Shabbos shiur of Rav Shlomo understand that you’re connecting own distinct identity? more. Last week, we had seven Miller shlita. Now, B’H, Toronto is cases, an unusually large number. to HaKadosh Baruch Hu in a very It would be beneficial if the Ashke- a city of Torah, of yeshivot, kol- personal and profound way. To We also have dinei mamanot, for lelim – and a vibrant Sephardic nazi schools would acquaint their people who have differences in just read and understand is not students with Sephardic traditions, community with its own shuls, enough. Your learning must be monetary issues and claims schools and kollel. as well as introduce them to our against each other, and geirut for internalized. It must be b’kedusha history and the seforim of our Se- conversions. Our beit din is the What is the biggest challenge u’vetahara and lilmod al menat phardic hahamim. Toronto is recognized Beit Din in Ontario faced by Torah Jews today? la’asot, for the purpose of doing. mainly comprised of Ashkenazim where geirut can take place be- and as a result, Sephardim are cause it is essential to have only Today, the biggest challenge is Let’s Talk Tachlis ______12 Vol. 4 issue 3 Tishrei 5779 Home for the Holiday

Bring in your bed, couch Call a mortgage consultant, be- (warning: this could double the and desk. cause if your sukkah is really go- normal amount of time required Bring in a heater. ing to be like a house in this to set up the sukkah). Bring in all your father’s neighbourhood, you probably Ask your mother if you can go to seforim. won’t be able to find one for less your friend’s sukkah (instead of Carpet. than $1 million. his house). Drywall. Your sukkah will be more like Make a basement for your suk- Central vacuum. your house if your house is more kah. Your sukkah should have like your sukkah, so you should Renovate your sukkah. its own garage. put up paper chains across your Put in a Pesach kitchen. Its own backyard. living room, put pictures of Since your house usually has a While we’re tossing in Yerushalayim and the Ushpizin on sukkah beside it at this time of This issue, the Tachlis would like everything but the kitchen sink, every square inch of your walls, year, your sukkah should also to offer some helpful suggestions how about an actual kitchen bring a beehive into the house, have a sukkah beside it. for Sukkos. During Sukkos we sink? take out the carpets and make a aspire, as much as possible, to Bring your teddy bear for bed- few holes in the live in the sukkah, to really make time. ceiling so you can it our primary place of dwelling. Just like my house? You mean, I see the stars. To that end, we asked YYH stu- should leave dirty laundry on the Get your sister to dents for some tips on how to floor? bring in her entire make one’s sukkah more like his Make your sukkah the place collection of hair- actual home. Here’s what they where you don’t do your home- related accessories came up with. work. and equipment

Illustrations by Menachem Gottlieb, Grade 7