A short time ago the Religious Council of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality awarded the Rabbi Y. M. Toledano Prize for Torah Literature to Rabbi Shalom Messas for his recently published volume of response Tevoth Shemesh.
Rabbi Messas was born in Meknes, Morocco. He studied in his home town with Rabbi Yitzhak Asebbag, one of the most distinguished rabbis in Morocco of his day.
In Meknes Rabbi Messas founded the “Dovev Sifte Yesenim” society, which printed manuscripts by Moroccan rabbis. He also founded and headed the “Keter Torah” Yeshiva, many of whose students now occupy prominent positions in various countries.
In 1949 Rabbi Messas was appointed Dayan of the Beth Din of Casablanca and some ten years later was named Chief Rabbi and Head of the Beth Din of that city. As spiritual elder of the country’s largest Jewish community, he was in fact Chief Rabbi of Morocco.
Two and a half years ago he was chosen Sefardi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. After he was nominated for that post the other candidates withdrew in deference to him.
The news of the award to Rabbi Messas brought back memories of both my wife’s and my short stay in Morocco in the summer of 1977 and our late night visit to Chief Rabbi Messas, who was at that time still in Casablanca.
It was early in the afternoon when we arrived in Mohammedia on the Atlantic coast, where we were to spend the night. Though we were rather tired, having travelled since daybreak by bus from Marrakesh, we did not rest for long at the hotel, but left for Casablanca, a half hour trip by car.
We took a tour of the city. The guide talked about Morocco in general and described Casablanca, the country’s largest city, pointing out monuments, government buildings and main thoroughfares. Of great interest to visitors from the United States was the villa where Roosevelt and Churchill conferred during World Wall II. The guide, apparently aware that there some Jews among the foreign tourists on the tour bus, made a point of stressing that Jews enjoyed full rights as citizens in the country.
When the tour was over, it was already dark, but for us the visit to the city was just beginning. How could we think of returning to Mohammedia without having been to Casablanca’s Jewish neighborhood.
An attendant at the “El Mansour Hotel” told us how to get to the Jewish Neighborhood. He produced a small map and marked on it the way we were to follow.
“It’s not far from her. Only a ten minute walk,” he said. “The Jewish neighborhood is just outside the old town.”
When we arrived at our destination, it didn’t take us long to find a synagogue. But as we entered the building, the congregants were leaving. They had just ended prayers. The large beautiful Beth El Temple was only a few steps away. Here, too, they had just finished Maariv. The Hazzan greeted us with a friendly, “Shalom Alechem,” and invited us to his home. We politely declined. It was late and we still wanted to see the Lubavitch institutions. A young Jew, whom we had met in the street, had volunteered to take us there.
We had heard much about the wonderful work the Chabadniks were doing in Morocco and we were eager to visit them.
Lubavitch activities began in Morocco circa thirty years ago. At that time there were still about 300,000 Jews in the country and the Chabadniks were active in numerous localities. Today with only twenty thousand Jews left in Morocco and most of them living in Casablanca, the Lubavitch activities are concentrated in that city. Here they maintain a Kollel, a Yeshiva day school, a higher Teacher’s Institute for girls, a girls’ teachers seminary, a Beth Rivka School for girls, evening courses, and a kindergarten for girls.
The seminary and Beth Rivka school were attended by more than 200 and about 300 girls respectively. The Kollel trained teachers, ritual slaughterers and Torah scribes.
We met with Rabbi Shlomo Matusof, the head of all Lubavitch operations in Morocco, Rabbi Shalom Eidelman, who is in charge of the Kollel, and Rabbi Yehuda Leib Raskin, the director of the Beth Rivka. All three have been living in Morocco for many years. Matusof arrived when Lubavitch began its activities in the country. Before that he was active among Moroccan Jews in France. Eidelman came in 1958 and Raskin in 1960. They will remain in Morocco as long as the Rebbe wants them there.
They are held in great esteem by Morocco’s Jews. The Lubavitch institutions were now housed in large buildings placed at the disposal of the Habadniks by the Casablanca Jewish community. The three Habad emissaries talked to us at length about the schools and the pupils and showed us around the facilities, explaining in detail how much effort was expended to make all students feel happy and comfortable.
The school building had just been redone and was ready for the new school year which was about to begin. In the kindergarten we saw new toys, which had been brought from France.
Chabad schools have textbooks of their own for Jewish studies, but the spirit of Chabad is brought home to the students not only in the schoolroom proper.
“During meals records of Habad Nigunim are played in the dining room,” the Chabadniks told us.
By Tovia Preschel
Jewish Press
April 11, 1980