יום שישי י"ט באדר ב תשפ"ד 29/03/2024
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  • The Mission Continues

    As in the past so it remains today - we were and still are under the selfsame commitment to adhere to the directions of the Gedolei Yisrael, who stand guard against breaches of purity threatening our camp. When we were required to ask – we asked. When we were instructed to depart – we left. The moment we are summoned back to raise the flag, every other consideration is pushed to the side and we answer: We are ready!

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בראי היום

  • Harav Yisrael Friedman zy”a, the Rebbe of Husyatin

    מוטי, ויקיפדיה העברית

    The ancestral chain of Harav Yisrael Friedman, the founder of the Husyatin chassidic court, originates with the holy Baal Shem Tov. The Husyatin chassidus has its roots in Galicia and eventually came to Tel Aviv, during the turbulent years between the two World Wars.

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Place

  • Maccabi'im Gravesite

    In honour of Chanukah, we will discuss a fascinating, ongoing investigation attempting to establish the place of burial of Mattisyahu Kohen Gadol and his family.

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In I got It!

An Ashkenazic Leader for a Sefardic Community

Following the petira of Rabbi Meir Abulafia, the Jewish community in Toledo, Spain, was for decades bereft of leadership, until in 5064 (1304ce) the Rosh arrived in Spain.

N. Lieberman 16/11/2009 10:00

The Rosh, Rabbeinu Asher ben Yechiel (5010 – 5087, 1250ce – 1327ce), had been forced to flee his homeland in Worms, Ashkenaz (Germany), due to suffering acute persecution at the hands of its ruler, the Emperor Rudolf the First. With the painful memories of the persecution of his own Rav, Maharam of Rottenburg, in mind, the Rosh had chosen exile, fearing that his own story might have a similar ending – Maharam of Rottenburg was imprisoned in Germany for seven years, until his passing. Therefore, the Rosh fled Germany, first to southern France and then to Spain, with the aid of the Rashba.

In Toledo, the Rosh was appointed by the leaders of the community to head the kehilla. Among its leaders were Rabbi Avrohom ibn Shushan, his friend Rabbi Yaakov bar Yosef and other elders of the community.Toledo had been headed by other great Torah luminaries even after the petira of Rabbi Meir Abulafia, the most prominent of whom was Rabbeinu Yona, who even established a yeshiva there. He had been niftar in 5023 (1263ce). Thus the community took great pride in its status as a great centre of Torah – but this notwithstanding, it was immensely proud of its acquisition of the Rosh, who proceeded to establish the rabbinate of Toledo as the most influential in the whole of the region of Castile.

Yet despite the fact that the Rosh was now the de facto leader of the whole of Castile, there were certain instances in which he himself did not follow their customs, particularly those in which he felt that the local custom did not correctly reflect traditional practice. For instance, from his own testimony we see that he did not accept the custom of Provence on the matter of the permitted forms of birds to be eaten, but instead adhered to the custom of his native Ashkenaz – Germany.

As he writes; “Know, that I would not eat [in reference to the birds] according to their tradition [that of Provence], since I adhere to our tradition and the customs handed down to us by our ancestors of blessed memory, the sages of Ashkenaz. The custody of the Torah was handed over to them by their ancestors, transmitted from the time of the destruction of the Temple. The traditions of France also follow theirs, more than do the traditions of this land [Spain].” (Article 20, 20)

The Spanish crown accorded great respect to the Rosh, even consulting with him on legal matters.