RABBI SAM KASSIN

PROFILES IN LEADERSHIP

RECENTLY, BOTH FAMILY AND FRIENDS CAME TOGETHER AT THE HOME OF RICKY AND JAMIE COHEN FOR THE LAUNCH OF RABBI SAM KASSIN’S BOOK PROFILES IN LEADERSHIP.

SARINA ROFFÉ

RECENTLY, BOTH FAMILY AND FRIENDS CAME TOGETHER AT THE HOME OF RICKY AND JAMIE COHEN FOR THE LAUNCH OF RABBI SAM KASSIN’S BOOK PROFILES IN LEADERSHIP.

Rabbi Sam Kassin was confined to his home in Israel during the COVID-19 crisis and focused long enough to write Profiles in Leadership with the help of Rabbi Ralph Tawil. The book outlines the influences on Rabbi Kassin’s life, those who touched him and how they led him to his passion of training rabbis and sending them out into the world to spread kiruv (Orthodox Jewish outreach).

Rabbi Kassin is best known for his 40 plus years of work at Shehebar Sephardic Center, the rabbinical college he created in Jerusalem. Since its inception in 1980, the Shehebar Sephardic Center has grown into a world-renowned institution with an outstanding reputation for high quality programs, as well as a resource for Sephardic communities worldwide.

Rabbi Kassin said that during World War II in the concentration camps, “They would give one blanket to cover five people who had to sleep together on one bed. So, if one person on the bed had to turn over, they all had to turn over and they had to learn to do it together to survive. We the Jewish people cover the world with our blanket.”

But how did Rabbi Kassin come to be the jovial happy person he is? Who did he meet along the way that influenced him and inspired the passion he has? What motivates him? In his book, Rabbi Kassin entertains readers with the stories and experiences that led to the creation of Shehebar Sephardic Center. He tells of his yeshivah training, the schools he attended, disagreements he had and how they were worked out. With his piercing blue eyes, Rabbi Kassin regales us with stories of the people he met, and what each of those people taught him.

“When you look at the insights in this book, its humbling to an extreme,” said Ricky Cohen, who hosted the book launch at his Deal home. “As a child, I watched greatness, and those who had the courage to make great decisions. I think this book should be required reading.”

The very definition of the word rabbi is teacher. In Profiles in Leadership, Rabbi Kassin is the student, learning from those around him. However, he is also the leader, developing new ideas and programs that are innovative and unique.

In his book, we see the rebellious teenager, young groom, yeshivah student, teacher and problem solver. Readers see how he interacts with world leaders. But more than anything, readers see inside the mind of Rabbi Kassin, how he is 1,000% committed to helping the Jewish people and the leadership skills he uses to get things accomplished.

Readers also get to read how people around the world perceive him—in their own words. They tell of his influence and how he helped them grow. From Rabbi Moshe Shamah and the creation of Sephardic High School to his friends in Brooklyn, everyone who played a part in his life and success are included.

“I met Rabbi Kassin in 1981,” said Rabbi Eli Mansour. “I was in Israel and he attended a bar mitzvah and ate fire. (Which is something Rabbi Kassin used to do at bar mitzvahs.) Remember that? The Lubavitcher rebbe created scholars and sent them to different locations around the world. Rabbi Kassin and his children used the same idea for Sephardim, keeping our traditions, rubbing elbows with the greatest rabbis and telling us those personal stories. Let him continue to make students and dispatch rabbis throughout the world.”

“Rabbi Kassin and I go back a long way. He truly cares for the Jewish people,” said Morris Bailey. “He works hard and gets spectacular results. He loves us, has compassion for us, and relates to us. Rabbi Kassin is down to earth, and he helps us enhance our lives. He is very special.”

Readers see the lovable yet practical nature of the founder of the Shehebar Sephardic Center and how he faced overwhelmingly impossible tasks yet succeeded in accomplishing his goals. He recounts his journey from his childhood in Miami to Brooklyn and finally to Israel.

Rabbi Ari Azancot noted that he owes his very career to Rabbi Kassin. “I was out of college and had a good job. Rabbi Yosef Bitton encouraged me to study. He took me to the Shehebar Sephardic Center and Rabbi Kassin wanted me to learn full-time. I said I have to work! He went to my uncle, and my uncle and Abe Cohen funded my learning in 1983. That’s how I got to be a rabbi. And I’ve been rabbi in Barcelona, Spain, Bogota, Colombia; Baranquilla, Colombia; France and now at Beth Torah. He is a bulldozer, he is a pusher, but Rabbi Kassin gets things done.”

The book gives readers important lessons in leadership and how personal contact with great leaders spurred Rabbi Kassin’s excited and committed approach to leadership and life. Rabbi Kassin’s unconventional approach is both unique, entertaining and inspiring.

A genealogist and historian, Sarina Roffé is the author of Branching Out from Sepharad, cookbooks and the app, Sarina’s Sephardic Cuisine. Editor of Dorot, Sarina holds a BA in Journalism, an MA in Jewish Studies and an MBA. She is president of the Sephardic Heritage Project, Co-Chair of the Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative and Chair of the Sephardic Research Division of JewishGen.