SARINA ROFFÉ
WHEN COVID CAME TO THE WORLD, EVERYTHING CLOSED DOWN FOR TWO YEARS. NOBODY KNEW WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES WOULD BE IN SYNAGOGUES AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. FROM HIS HOME, RABBI SAM KASSIN, DEAN OF SHEHEBAR SEPHARDIC CENTER (SSC) IN JERUSALEM, CONTACTED PEOPLE WORLDWIDE WHO WERE INTERESTED IN BECOMING RABBIS AND EDUCATORS AND BUILT A PROGRAM FOR THEM.
He worked with Rabbi Yaakov Benizri to develop an online semicha program that lasted 18 to 24 months. Rabbi Benizri taught classes several times a week over Whatsapp, Youtube and Zoom. As a result, 16 outstanding students received their diplomas and began their work spreading Judaism throughout the world.
The graduation of these new rabbis was held on Monday, August 8th. The students came from India, Germany, Hungary, Singapore, Italy and the United States to receive their rabbinical ordination and celebrate at a gala dinner at Montefiore Hall in Jerusalem, a grand hall in the Old City overlooking the Western Wall.
Among the 200 plus people who attended were several of Israel’s chief rabbis, dignitaries, ministers, Knesset members and other top education leaders.
The new rabbis have been studying diligently during the past few years to earn their Rabbinical Degree so they can serve the Jewish people in their countries. Most of them are businessmen who wanted to get their ordination in order to go into Jewish education in their communities. In addition, seven Ethiopian students graduated as scribes.
At the end of the semicha ceremony, there was an explosion of unstoppable dancing among the attendees. People were very overjoyed about the occasion.
from Rabbi Sam Kassin and Rabbi Tuvia Keil
THE GRADUATES WHO TRAVELED TO JERUSALEM
Ricky Cohen, Brooklyn
Zac Gindi, Deal
Micha Yerushalmi, Hungary
Yochanan Canfield, Sarasota, FL
Maurice Zalta, USA
Netanel Yaacobov, Germany
David Hayak, Singapore
Benyamin Pereira, Colombia
Abi Bitton, New York
GRADUATES FROM ISRAEL WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN PLACED IN COMMUNITIES
Akiva Ben Ezra, Durban, South Africa
Aryeh Attias, Albuefiira, Portugal
Simcha Rubinov, Queens, New York
Yosef Deil, Milano, Italy
Jonathan Goldschmidt, Philippines (formerly in Cochin, India)
Since its inception in 1980, the SSC has grown into a world renowned institution with an outstanding reputation for high quality programs. It has become a resource for Sephardic communities worldwide to identify rabbis, dayans, teachers, mohels, shochets and spiritual leadership.
Founded by Rabbi Sam Kassin with the help of Rabbi Eliyahu Shamoula A”H, the SSC yeshiva in the Old City has grown from a small kollel with 10 students into a thriving rabbinical school. It has grown in number, scope, reach and purpose into the present day Shehebar Sephardic Center and global outreach program that has placed over 400 rabbis.
Seen as the global source for Sephardic training, Rabbi Kassin fields calls and emails daily from Diaspora Jewish communities looking for rabbinic leadership to build a kahal, lead holiday services, to teach in a school, or to oversee the kashrut of a restaurant. Rabbi Kassin spends one third of his time traveling to visit communities, meeting the leadership and helping them identify a rabbi who fits their needs. No matter what the need, the SSC fills the void by sending its graduates to the remotest towns or the most highly populated cities, to serve and inspire the people there.
A genealogist and historian, Sarina Roffé is the author of Branching Out from Sepharad (Sephardic Heritage Project, 2017). She holds a BA in Journalism, and MA in Jewish Studies and an MBA.
