First festival for Sephardi shul rabbi
PURIM will be the first festival presided over at the Sassoon Yehuda Sephardi Synagogue by new Rabbi Ben Hassan.
DALIA SABLE
PURIM on Saturday night will be a double celebration at the Sassoon Yehuda Sephardi Synagogue. As well as commemorating the historic victory over Haman, it will be the first festival presided over at the shul by Rabbi Ben Hassan, who took on the role last December.
Describing the community as “very warm and friendly”, he said: “Everybody is made to feel welcome, regardless of how long you have been coming for. Everyone asks you how your day was and you are always greeted with a smile.”
Born in Manchester to an Ashkenazi mother from Germany and a Sephardi father from Gibraltar, Rabbi Hassan practised Sephardi traditions within an Ashkenazi framework. It wasn’t until he travelled to Israel and was exposed to a larger Sephardi community that he wholly embraced his eastern heritage, subsequently attending a small Sephardi shul upon returning to his hometown.
“I think you could say that Sephardi traditions are a bit more lively. Everyone takes part in the service and it’s nice to get everyone involved. The customs are rich and versatile and this versatility is wonderful,” he said.
This “versatility” is certainly apparent at the recently renovated Sephardi synagogue on Hotham Street, where the origins of congregants include Algeria, Morocca, Egypt, Malaysia, India and Iraq.
“We take different aspects from different communities,” Rabbi Hassan said. “For instance, we will have a Moroccan chazan singing Egyptian tunes from a Baghdadi Torah.”
A number of new initiatives, including a Hebrew-reading program, have recently been initiated at the shul, in order to increase involvement in the services and community.
A Shabbat Mincha service will lead into megillah-reading this Saturday afternoon, with the rabbi hoping it will be a “springboard” for regular weekly services.
“It has been wonderful to see numbers grow. There is a real positive atmosphere in the air,” he said.
Rabbi Hassan, who also teaches Gemara and Chumash to students in years 7 to 9 at Leibler Yavneh College, is married with two young daughters.
The Sassoon Yehuda Sephardi Synagogue will host a megillah-reading on Saturday evening and again on Sunday morning, with a kids carnival to follow. Enquiries: www.sephardivic.org.
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