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| There are sometimes special moments when one suddenly, out of the blue, is inspired . Then things that are usually hard to understand or to accept unexpectedly gain a new dimension and one sees them differently. We began this week (last Sunday) with the fast of Tammuz, the day that marks the beginning of the three weeks of mourning which lead to Tisha B’Av. During this period, we mourn the destruction of the first and second Temples of Jerusalem. The history of these three weeks contains a long list of calamities and tragedies that befell our nation from its very beginning to this day. Destruction of the Temples and exile from our land, massacres in medieval Spain & expulsion from our homes in Spain and other European countries, and the holocaust are among the tragedies that our people have had to face in the past. All of these have a connection as far as the time of the year when they occurred with the three weeks in the middle of summer; YEMEI BEN HAMETZARIM (the days of distress). But very early this morning, I was taking a walk along Lake Washington Boulevard. It was 6:00 a. m., and as I was admiring the beautiful natural environment, there it was. I suddenly saw something that made me wonder: I saw a family of ducks on the surface of the lake sailing peacefully. Two big ducks (father & mother) followed by four small ones. It was such a harmonious sight. The water of the lake was shining like a diamond hit by the first strong rays of the sunlight. The green grass looked greener than usual and those ducks really looked like the rest of the world did not exist. Then I thought about it. FAMILY: This is what has kept Judaism going for the last 3300 years. One of our worst enemies expressed it masterfully when he said MA TOBU OHALECHA YA’ACOB MISKENOTE’ CHA YISRAEL How calmly are your tents, oh Jacob, your dwelling places, oh Israel establishing for posterity that as long as the family institution is strong and based on Torah values our enemies may hurt us but they will never destroy us. I had one such moment a few years ago when I lead a Sephardic heritage tour to Spain, together with Rabbi Benzaquen. I will always remember my feeling of hope and confidence, of trust in Hashem. One day when the group visited the “Santa Cruz quarters” in Seville, what used to be the Jewish quarter of one of the greatest and most flourishing Jewish centers in the World. In 1391 my ancestor the great sage & Kabbalist Jaacob Cohen-Scali had to flee that very same quarter together with his family and a bunch of followers because the anti-Jewish riots had decimated the Jewish community, burnt their synagogues, and gone into a rampage of destruction. After wandering for months in Morocco, they ended up in EIN - SEVILLA (Arabic for water fountain of Seville) where they founded the Jewish settlement of DUBDO, which later became known as IR HACOHANIM and IR HASOFRIM VEHA HACHAMIM (the city of the Cohens and the city of the scribes and sages) because it was a city which provided rabbis, scribes and teachers for all of Eastern Morocco during centuries... And here I was standing in the Barrio de Santa Cruz, saying to myself “600 years ago so much Jewish blood flowed in these streets, they tried to obliterate us, to destroy us, and here I am leading a group of 25 (mostly Sephardim) who are proud to be Jewish, who have not only survived the expulsion from Spain, but who as part of the commitment to the future are learning about their past...” I stood in the middle of the small park at the beginning with sadness and pain for the suffering of our ancestors but after a while I was embraced by a sense of victory a sense of trust in Hashem, confidence for the future. MA TOBU OHALECHA YA’ACOB...This is today and has always been our real fortitude, our families. Today, as I looked at those ducks I felt something similar because yesterday was a very happy day for me as Rabbi of Ezra Bessaroth, it was a day of joy and optimism. I had the ZEHUT to perform the Brit Mila for Joseph Sa’adia Assouline, the son of Jordan and Jenny Assouline. It was a beautiful celebration of our triumph over expulsions and inquisition, a celebration of family and tradition. it was a most meaningfully breathtaking scene. There were four generations of Sephardim standing together in the main sanctuary marking the entry into the covenant of Abraham of the latest addition to the family. Raphael Moreno Capeluto came here from the island of Rhodes where generations of Sephardim had not only survived the expulsion from Spain, but managed to preserve the great and unique Ladino language and Sephardic culture. Here he continued by being involved in the Kehila, he married Rahel Alhadeff, together they started the Capeluto saga. Morrie continues to contribute immensely to Ezra Bessaroth, and among the many contributions he make, he has been hosting the Ladino class in his Seattle Curtain for over eight years, and since I took over from Hazzan Greenberg I must say that the couple of hours I spend there each Tuesday learning MEAH/LOEZ in the original Ladino (in Rashi script) and going through UZOS & COSTUMBRES or MA’ASIYOT and other Ladino texts is the highlight of my week. Linda, Morrie’s daughter, is an accomplished singer expert in traditional Ladino songs and many other areas of cantorial arts, as well as a staunch link in the golden chain of our traditions. Linda’s son Jordan is one of the greatest latest additions to our synagogue and accomplished Hazzan himself, committed to Torah and Kehila together with his wife Jenny and their three wonderful boys Jakie, Eli, and just circumcised Yoseph Sadia bring a breath of fresh air to our synagogue. It is people like these who represent Torah values and the centrality of family in Judaism. So yesterday was not only a “Bircat Mila” it was a celebration of family, of Sephardic life, of Judaism, of optimism for the future... Just like when Rabbi Akiva in the Talmud laughed when he saw the destruction because he believed that the hard part of the prophecy had been fulfilled and now we can only expect the good one the one in which G-d promised to redeem us and to bring us back to our land and rebuild the Temple... Here too as Sephardim, as Jews, today we can look at the past as the bad part of history that is over and look forward to the future with our families to merit (have the ZEHUT) of seeing Mashiah and UMALEA HA’ARE DE’AH ET HASHE. The earth will be filled with awareness of G-d’s presence. VENATATI SHALOM BA’ARETZ. And I will establish peace all over the world. With my best wishes to you all, Rabbi Salomon Cohen Scali |