WAR AND LORE, by Isaac Yetiv

WAR AND LORE

WAR AND LORE

The legend of the Tunisian wonder rabbi

By Isaac Yetiv, PhD

LA JOLLA, California— Many years ago, there lived in Tunisia, then still governed by the Ottoman Turks, a rabbi and scholar, Moshe Sfez his name, who was poor, pious, and devoted to the study of Torah and Talmud with his numerous disciples. He also wrote, and wrote, and filled manuscripts with his commentaries on the Holy Scriptures.

When his wife died, the Community provided him with some hired help: a Jewish widow who cooked and cleaned for him and a young Arab servant for the other chores. Sadeq was his name but the Rabbi called him Tzaddik, the righteous one.

And righteous he was, indeed. Sadeq venerated Rabbi Moshe as a saint and was awestruck by his radiance. He also enjoyed the loud and animated talmudic discussions, and even became familiar with the most common Hebrew terms like Torah, Talmud, Mishna, and with the blessings on food, hand-washing, and other prayers.

Years went by. One day, Sadeq heard the town crier announce that the captain of a Turkish ship anchored at the harbor was recruiting young men to work as sailors. They would receive a free passage to Istanbul and also somemoney. For him, the offer was very tempting. He would send half the money to his widowed mother, he thought. But what with Rabbi Moshe? He couldn't abandon him! He soon decided that unless he obtained the Rabbi's permission, he would not leave him.

When the Rabbi heard about his plans, he told him: " Tzaddik, my son, your duty to yourself, and even more to your mother, takes precedence over me. Don't worry about me; God will provide." He then signaled him to approach, put his two hands over Sadeq's head and intoned the Birkat Hakohanim, the traditional Hebrew blessing: "May God bless you and protect you! May God lighten his face to you! May God bring peace to you!" Then he added: "May God give you health and wealth and fill your hands with gold and precious stones!"

When Sadeq saw Istanbul, he was captivated by its beauty and decided to stay. After a few odd jobs he was hired by a baker to sell bread at the store. He was diligent at his work, honest, kind and courteous. The customers loved him. One of them, a frail old man for whom he had delivered his daily bread home for years, invited him one day to come inside his house, and showed him a room full of gold, and jewels, and precious stones. "Sadeq my son," he said, " I am alone in the world, I have no heirs; you have been so good to me, you are so kind and righteous; I have decided to leave all this to you; I have already signed the papers with the QADI, the religious authority." Sadeq was stunned.

He couldn't believe what he saw and what he heard. But then he remembered: could this be the fulfillment of the Rabbi's baraka, the benediction, he wondered?

When the old man died, Sadeq became one of the richest men in Turkey. Through his good deeds, he became very famous, and the Sultan appointed him as vizir, cabinet minister.

Many years passed. Rabbi Moshe Sfez, feeling weaker every day, decided to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to see the remains of the Temple in Jerusalem, to die and be buried in the Holy City. Palestine was also under Turkish rule, and the Rabbi's ship was scheduled to make a stop in Istanbul. Alerted to his visit, the Jewish community of Istanbul publicized the imminent arrival of this famous rabbi and scholar of world renown, Rabbi Moshe Sfez from Tunisia.

When Sadeq, now Minister of his Imperial Majesty, heard about the event, he summoned the leaders of the Jewish community and ordered them to have a full month of celebrations and festivities, with pageants and honors as befits an eminent guest of the Crown. He would take care of all expenses.

All was done as commanded. When the time came for the Rabbi to continue his voyage to the Holy Land, he thanked his hosts in the Jewish community for the magnificent reception which, he added, he did not deserve. But the Chief Rabbi of Turkey told him that they did not deserve the thanks either, which should go to the vizir Sadeq who would be there shortly.

When Sadeq arrived, he ran to the Rabbi, took his two hands and kissed them with veneration and submission. The Jewish delegation was very embarrassed and confused. They lunged toward the door but the Minister stopped them.

"Stay here," he ordered, and proceeded to tell them the whole story, peppered with Hebrew words and phrases, to the stupefaction of his bewildered audience."These hands I kissed," he concluded, "are the hands that gave me the blessings which made me what I am today." Then he wished a safe trip to the Rabbi and ordered his personal guards to accompany him to the Holy Land and see that his every wish isfulfilled. He also gave them a letter of credit to the Ottoman bank in Jaffa, with the order to buy for the Rabbi a big house where he would establish a yeshiva that would be named Yeshivat Hatzaddik. The Jewish community in Turkey never saw better days.

Based on a story from " Judeo-Tunisian Stories" by the author’s brother, Rav Yossef Tibi, from Haifa, Israel, and translated from Hebrew. Columnist Yetiv can be contacted via yetivi@sandiegojewishworld.com

Entrez les termes que vous recherchez.

Web Harissa.com

Envoyer un formulaire de recherche

Pour toutes informations, critiques et commentaires, envoyez un émail a :

jhalfon@harissa.com

copyright 1999-2009 Harissa All rights reserved.