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" / THE JEWISH POST ,Page Nineteen ~ . ..:o.~ _, . . Thursday, April 16, 1970. '" Page Eighteen T II E J 'It w iSH pbs T Thursday, April 16, 1970 ----,------~~------~~~~~~~------~------~-- nized . that such things do happen. Mother was shocked, maintaining that the marriage was BeDliniscence wrong for both parties. But no one can interfel'e IN GIBRALTAR TWO FIRES in such matters and father did want to earn the JEWS money for performing the ceremony. , I, ment, and stayed 011 in Gibraltar, gained control I attended the wedding because I was one of R.o/e of the Jews ;n Struggle Between Spain and Britain of its foreign commerce, and even dared to be~ those who carl'ied ,the four-pronged wedding can­ come so:rr.e of its leaders. opy that was stored near the stove in our apart~ . The British influence in Gibraltar continued DESCENDANTS THE ment. Reb Berele's spacious. home was alight , British Colonial Secretary. The author was presi­ to grow as the Spanish influence diminished .. with candles and lamps. Reb Berele's face was t'J Jacot Betle,. dent of the kehillah. Women came to ask him to 'pray for their sick Jews kept coming to the colony; they were the children, to give them his blessing for continued aglow as he and his bride took their places under ' According to some sources,Jews were in Marranos who stayed on in Portugal and Spain go()d health, or to intercede with Heaven 'On their the canopy. But unlike the groom, the bride ~after the expulsio]1 and were forced to convert N the struggle be~ween Spain and 'Britain about ,Gibraltar long before it cam'e uI).der British juris­ ,~ehalfwhen they; were pregnant or about ,to go didn't seem happy, kept looking about her 'as if I the rights of Bibraltar, the Jews find them- diction., When Spain and Portugal persecuted and to Christianity. In 1776, 'when there were only "llTELIVEV at io Krochmalna Street. A few Into labor. Reb Berele, taking a .pinch of snuff perpl~xed by sOl?ething. She was wearing a new selves as often in history, in the middle. When forced conversion .on 'Jews, long before the offi­ 3,000 inhabitants on the rock; a third of them VV doors away from us at number 16 dwelt a from his bone snuffbox, promised' the hest for , cape and a holIday bonnet. One could read in a referendum was held in 1967, and the Gibral- . cia! expulsion from Spain, Gibraltar was un,der were Jews. They' distingujshed themselves by tiny little man, a rabbi who would have been a evel'yone. He had two sons who were also rabbis her face a refusal to suffer and a- determin:ation tarians voted over '12,000 to 44, to remain under Moorish rule, and Jews escaped there with the their honesty and industry, They had their own person of great significance if family, were every­ of small importance, but were otherwise unlike to snatch from !ifeall, that, it has t:o offer: Reb .British rule, all the 'Jews voted in favor of Britain. help of smugglers. Some arrived by the circuitous civil court, a Beth Din, where. all conflicts among, thing. " His father's father was Reb Moshe, who their. father. ' ' .'. Berele was. not the ,proper mate :(01' her; she Today, 1,000 Jews live in Gibraltar with a route of the Italian city of Lvorno(leghorn). ' them were' settled. They even maintained a' had in turn had as his father the great Kozhenitz , He 'was small; they were large. He was slow; needed a mIghtIer man. But when one is seventy, 'Well organized community 'structure. There are In 1704" the British sea forces captured the cherem (excommunication)' against any who did Rahbi. Rabbi Berele was already in his eighties one can't afford to be choosy. Better Reb Berele not submit to the authority of the Beth Din or they were' speedy. Those sons were so alike you , , four synagogues, each of which represents a sepa- peninsula, and in 1713, after the peace of Utrecht, when I knew hiin. The reason he was not an. would have thought them twins, and perhaps than no one.' , rate chapter of the ,Jewish past. Gibraltar became an English base.' Then the offi- - who by their behaviour injured the Jewish name. accepted Hassidic rabbi was his inability to s.tudy. they were. For them to have 'sat around and , During the \vedding-supper, the newly-coined Gibraltar is a free' port and carries on com- cially recognized status of the Jewish community . The first synagogue, Etz Hayyim, was offi­ He could barely struggle through a chapter of waited for wome'n to consult them w'ould' have ~ebbitzin began accusing the maid of mismanag­ mercial contacts and transacti()ns with many began. The Spanish historian Ayala, however, cially opened in 1759, but some years earlier the Mishnah. It was his fate to go thl'ough life been a waste of time. They wereobl,iged to rush mg the hbusehold~ It was obvious that the ,women countries. A number of Jews are importers. On cotnplains that Clause' Ten of the Treaty of there was already a yeshiva and a house of known as the great-grandson of the great Koz­ about the city in search of wealthy patrons who would not remain long under the same roof. And prayer. The first rabbi was Isaac Almasina, who henitz Rabbi, but himself only a rabbi for women. sure enough, a few days' fater, Reb Berele's house­ ;< Main Street I encountered a full dozen of their Utrecht, which banned Jews and Moors from were willirig to give a hand,up to, the great-great­ , shops carrying foreign goods; in some of them Gibraltar, 'Was not carried out. The reason for 'later became a rapbi of the Portuguese Synagogue But he was a man of breeding, having in­ grandsons of the Kozhenitz Rabbi. Like their keeper ca!l1e to our ~ouse to accu'le her employer. I even noticed Keren Kayemeth and Rabbi Meir ignoririg the ban was that the island, was badly in London. Jews had their own quarter, called herited 'the gentility of his distinguished ances- father, they wore silk gabardines and sable hats She. ha.d Just been dIscharged. This wils only the "New Jerusalem." When Spain tried to reconquer ," Baal Hanes charity boxes, and among the prod- in need of construction material and food products. a~ they hurried abo)lt, their predatory eyes scan" begmmng, The new Rebbitzin was evidently in- " ucts artistic creations from Bezalel School in' Its offiCials applied to the'Sultan of Morocco, bul Gibraltar, Jews fought heroically in the ranks of mng ·the upper storeys of houses. At times I 'Israel. Almost everyone on· the' island speaks he refused to deal with them until they permitted the British garrison" Abraham Hazzan, a volun­ teer, was decorated by the BI'itish general for felt the ferce that propelled them was so great ., both English and Spanish. Although the Jews Jewish and Moorish subjects of Morocco to enter that they would suddenly spread their coat-tails are 'Sephardim, the. Ladino vernacular is wholly Gibraltar to buyand.sell. ,This permission,says his heroism and rewarded with the gift of a and soar off over the rooftops. foreign to them.' Some. speak a semi-correct the historian, was given on condition that their house. Between Reb Berele's sons and the rest of Hebrew.. .' stay be limited to 30 days. The man, who carrried Two Gibraltar Jewl,l, Aaron· Cardozo and Ye­ the city of ,Warsaw there existed an undeclared , . The first: synagogue I visited was Nefuzei on the negotiations in the' name of the Sultan huda Benoliel,played an important' role in the :i, ihternal and external politics of the island. Car war. The city was determined to give these CUll­ Yehuda, founded in '1790 ( which also houses the was Moses,ben-Hatar, whose descendants ~an still ~ing men nothing. 'Let them work for a living' · Talmud Torah and ,fhe' office. of the local Rabbi. be found in Gibraltar today. The same historian dozo 'was the Consul of Tunis and Algeria; he , .. lIke. everyone else,' the city seemed to say. 'Why " carried out an agreement with Sidi' Mohallled, ; I 'Twas fortunate enough to arrive at the time when complains that, the Jews did not honor this agree­ , Bey' of Oran, :to. provide naval sup­ don't they go, peddle herring in the mm'ket placeJ' ,- ! classes were in' session. A woman ' '. " . , , Reb Berele's sons, having wives and children to . ," plies to, Gibraltar. Lord Nelson j;, was teaching the children Hebrew support and unwilling to 'take no for an answer; ," ordered a special frigate for him. He · fi'om an Israeli" text-book. The cl),il­ succeeded in uncovering conspiracies rushed off to the back door when the front of it dren ,with bronzed fac'es 'and smiling , that saved the fortress. A military house was slammed in their faces. They were eyes,greeted me ,with' "Shalom!" . parade was carried out in his honor, always thinking up some new scheme to promote The .teadher hold me there were 60 and Lord Nelson gave him a gold themselves a few more roubles .. For therri it was Jewish youngsters :and a number of. medal. Yehuda Benoliel Was the Con­ merely a matter of being, sufficiently alert and il0n.JJewishchiIdren in the school. ,suI of Morocco and Austria, and was enterprising. ' , · In addition to Hebrew they also, re­ designated to deal with the Sultan And Reb Berele's well-born sons lflways man~ ceive ,their general education here. ., aged to get what they were after. . . sane with ambition. ·Why should Reb Berele be of Morocco when a conflict broke out tors. A small man with full white beard, he The school is maintained anti inspec~­ a One day father was. delighted to fip,d that the the insignificant rabbi he was when he came from between thatcorintry and Sardinia. wore an Oliter garment of silk, a sable hat, white such important stock? She was Qeterinined to ed by the educational department of . Thanks to his efforts it was settled. old man had come to visit us. Imagine having the the local government.. mbraltar has. stockings, and breeches. His beadle accompanied. great-grandson of the Kozhenitz Rahbi 'in our correct that situation.' and circulated, stories The ~(ing of Sardinia gave· him a him wherever he went, So slowly ,.did he walk ainong the women. about the .miraculous acts of a Jewish Prime Minister, Sir Joshua golden jewel box stuffed with dia~ hou~e! 'For a full hour the two. men discussed that it took him half an. hour to get from his ~ewlsh 'affairs, current events, the,ir respective , her' saintly' nusbarid., Whether she was at the .. I. Abraham Hassan, he is :also' the. chief monds. t. . (_ , mem1;>er 'of its Legislative' Council. house to .the Hasl;lirlic stlldy house two blocks lIves, and' the unique customs of Kozheni.tz and butcher's, or the. grocer's, or, the supermarket, The Gibraltar Jewish community away. He had such a pronounced' stoop that all she kept. on singing . Reb Berele's praises. But Active ill the Jewish community, he .TiFlanders and Holland.' These , " i :: · Pedro is the champion of the move--. ,.eater and a brandy drinker as welL He always - He lay there as calm and serene as ever, cough­ n .were presumably Marranos who came wore a joyous holiday. look of contentment on, ing arid smiling. When it Wias time for him to " I t- ment to :restore -Gibraltar to Spanish first .to the Low Countries and then I '1\ . 'rule .. Sir J oahua has remarked that· " his florid face . put on his, phylacteries ,he would sigh softly, and . to Gibraltar. f, Every Purim, as atoken of .his affection, Reb 1 L' · if thei.;e wel'e a' plebisCite· '.'120 per , Besides Sir Joshua Hassan there tie them to his 'arms with his characteristic slow­ II - n · 'cerit the inhaoitantswould opt to Berele sent my father a fish which .had heen n.ess. Women still came to see ,him, and he con­ ·d of 1 are two other Jewish ministers in . stick With. Britain." , cooked in sweet-and-sour sauce. Whenever the tmued to pray for their good health and the I ,1 . , ' , the cabinet, the Minister for Tourism ' H two met on the street, he chided my father for health of their children, or whatever they wanted. ~. I I, The extensIve Jewiilh influence, Abraham Serfaty,and S. Aseruya, i " !, , not visiting him mote often; my father only went He still 1ik~d to nibble on a piece of cake and 'i " the -Minister for Economic Develop- in Gibralt.ar is indicated on a 'walk to Reb Berele's w))en someone in our house died. .;; •.. wash it down with a little brandy..' fi .I " through the city, which has amongst . ment and Post.· , , , , Being a Kohen, of priestly descent,.father was ,: . One day he sighed deeply and' gave up' his' i , , .' itsistreets such names as Ben~Ziri1rah ". ' , In 1843 a newspaper appeared in ,'j' , .,, not permitted, according to Mosaic law, to remain "1; .'. sOllLTh'e Hassidim, who while he-lived had rarely . ; . A venue, Benoliel Passage, Sarfatti·· Ladino called Cronica Israelita. The , 'in a house which contained a corpse. . ' . Passage, andSerraya Ramp: '.,'.. , 'commumil and religious structure of " Lublin. Finally Reb. Berele . ~xplained why li~ thought of, Reb Berele, flocked to his funeral.' ! -~ '-, ~. Whenever father went to Reb Be~ele's', he had come; he wanted to get 'married." After aU, he was the great-grandson of the Kozh~ , . Jews in Gibr~ltarare,CIoseiY. ...• the community was, organized in a took me with him. The only thing Reb Berele . . enitzRabbi. There were a 'Whole host of rabbis' !• model manner. This includes a nn-in­ r>, linked with Israel. Radio Kol~Israel ' i liked to do besides pray w,as to recite the Zohar. , Soon in walked the bridlJ-to-be,a woman of at the ceremony. At the open grave, the sobbing' ~ . ; . comes. through «leady on the ,air- 'bel' of' philanthropic and religious i,1 It is doubtful whether he ,understood the Ara­ seventy and a rabbFs widow. She was at least Rebbitzhi sprelJ,d out her arms and delivered her' ! .. ;, institutions such as Malbish Arumim . maic in' which the book was written. But what two heads taller than. Reb -Berelle; A stout woman,' own eulogy, although one had already ,been given.. .1 ;',waves; and many' Israeli ships; pass . ,(for clothing the needy) ; IIaknassath v , ;, .' through the stra~ts. ' . difference did that make ? Since the Zohar deals she wore a fur cpat. and a"peaked bonnet, and . The sons of the dead man recited the Kaddish ! Orchin (for receiving the traveller) ; with various celestial secrets such as, the hier­ spoke in a loud voice. She sprinkled her Yiddish and studied the crowd in search of possible bene: t; . '. . The' local library contains many ... Chevra Kadisha (for burying the archy of angels and the sacred names' of God, ,,:ith Hebrew. Anotpriolls,spimger:inher oWn factors. '. '.' , f; important archives which tell of the " dead); and 'Bikur Cholim (for the " the mere act of enunciating the, words elevates rIght, she was busy collecting money to subsidize Th . . ' l.,il'ole. Jews played in . various p~ri

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