A Song and a Prayer By Riki Goldstein | April 27, 2021
Rebbetzin Rochel Rakow faced tragedy with a siddur in her hands and song on her lips
There’s a beautiful picture of Rebbetzin Rochel Rakow taken on her final visit to Eretz Yisrael, in May 2019. She s seated serenely in her wheelchair, in a Meah Shearim store, its walls lined with leather siddurim.In her hand is a gigantic bag of freshly popped popcorn. Together with a six-year-old grandchild, the nonagenarian great-grandmother is choosing a gift. The most precious gift ever a siddur. The child in the picture is named Hindy, after the Rebbetzin’s sister, who survived the Holocaust alongside her, and the gift they’re selecting together is the indispensable item that Rebbetzin Rakow always had within arm’s reach, during the Holocaust years a siddur, her connection to tefillah; it was this that she passed on to her family. Rebbetzin Rakow was the devoted wife of Rav B
Out from the Cold By Riki Goldstein | April 7, 2021
Rav Shammai Zahn nurtured a generation of Sephardi gedolim whose influence was felt all over Europe and beyond. A reunion of memories after six decades
“I owe my life to him.”
Talmidim remember Rav Shammai Zahn ztz”l
Mr. Shmuel Bitan, originally of Melilla
Mr David Fhima, originally of Marrakesh
Rabbi Avraham Melul, originally of Tangiers
They were a group of several dozen Moroccan teenagers on an open lorry, traveling down an English highway, singing aloud in the August sunshine. Arriving in the beautiful Lake District National Park, they’d find a scenic but sheltered spot and set up their tents for camp. Leading the group was a middle-aged, European-born rosh yeshivah, with a long beard, big smile, and overflowing heart. Of course, he would help his boys pitch the tents. He had bought them the army surplus tents and sleeping bags. He would take care of their summer fun, t