Behind the Greatness: Rabbi Jacob S. Kassin - Full Feature Documentary

[Music] Rabbi Jacob Escassen Shalom was God's gift to our illustrious community. You felt that if he's here, everything's good. Everything's right. He just felt safe. He really saved the community to him to be happy, to be healthy, to be successful. [Music] You felt that he was a holy man. This is a man of tremendous tremendous knowledge >> big in every area of the Torah. >> You felt that you had a holy man leading the community. [Music] He's the the very important link that kept us floating. He was the lifesaver of the community. >> And if you don't have Rabbi Jacob S. Cassen, without a doubt, our community perishes. [Music] Hashem, today our community is flourishing. After over a hundred years on these shores, the struggle of our grandparents and great-grandparents led to the infrastructure we all enjoy and benefit from today. We have dozens of synagogues in Yeshivot, social and recreational centers, organizations, and so much more. spanning from Brooklyn to Deal and many places in between. However, this wasn't always the case. Before we had what we have today, there was a vision and a foresight all in the eyes of one man, Rabbi Jacob Kassen Alaba Shalom. our community was on the brink of oblivion and we found uh you know America and it's a free country and we want to establish ourselves and the last thing that was on the minds of the earlier generation was setting ourselves up spiritual we were too busy trying to exist make a living build our families buy homes and Rabbi Jacob escass alab shalom comes to this community at a very very perilous time for our people. How does somebody become such a giant? What type of upbringing must one have to become so holy [Music] born 1900 as he mentioned in his own book no I was born at which is 1900 at a young age in his early 20 he start to run Kabala under his father-in-law Hakam Shalom Haday and he ended married the daughter of Hakam Shalom Hadaya the author of Shalom any question and the Kabala he used to answer on the spot all the books what he wrote under the age of 28 if I have no doubt would have stayed in Yusha He'd have become one of the greatest coalists ever known in our century. It was very hard for me to believe that this is the rabbi who wrote these unbelievable books. books on Cabala, coming to a community that basically was not a religious community per se and dealing with these people and becoming a father to them and becoming a father they all looked to as a father and respected. There is no such thing as coincidence. Everything is in the hands of Hashem. As fate would have it, this humble giant would find his way into our community. And after a one-year trial, the rabbi would stay for over 60 years, fully shaping who we are today. He comes to the community at a time where he sees a trend and the trend is towards assimilation. We didn't have the basis of Torah yet which could protect us. So really we were very vulnerable and he knows that if he could just keep the community together and united and if he could just show the community tolerance until they get to that maturity where they could start building the proper spiritual infrastructure then we have a shot and then many years later like today we have the mikvah today we have the yeshivot so we have that protection when he came he was the protection >> when I was a little I lived in Mensonhurst and my father Alaw Shalom used to take me to 67th Street Menddev to pray and he would tell me there is a chief rabbi here a very holy man Kamyakov Katine and he would make sure that before I left Shul I would kiss the rabbi's hands we were children we really didn't know much about him alls we know is is that he was a very very holy person before expanded in the back on East 5th used to be a parking lot. It was the place where we used to play softball. Used to walk down East Fifth and then enter Shereson from the parking lot. And that day he starts to make his rounds around the parking lot picking up little pieces of bread. So of course, you know, we stopped the game. You know, out of respect to the Reb, we knew a holy man is coming. Game stops. And it made such an impression. You see this old sadik? He bends down. He picks up a little piece of bread. He kisses it and he puts it in his pocket. Then he bends down again and he kisses it and he puts it in his pocket and you see 15 16 teenagers I don't know how old we were and we were just frozen. As the years went on, I started to study Hakam Yakov and I realized this is a man of tremendous tremendous knowledge in match exactly what the Zud saying they call him isot and the ask isot and the answer simply ish he has everything he was the zakan phenomenal memory. In fact, when he rejoiced Rabbi Kasim when they arrive with the coff he mention called the dictionary and any question or any sh which you go to in will be Melik because every understood who kasin in the young age he wrote all those books and he was involved with big at that time and which is he for long maybe 96 years old very powerful question BT you come from very high class to community at that time struggling chabatu and kashut you come actually tobar the wilderness because that and his nature soft is in order to get the people together you must have ahabat is in 1965 5. There was a boy in the community that passed away. One of the rabbis came to me at the time and said, "Listen, we need someone to be shar Rabbi Hela and Rabbi Mosha Franco." We went to the Godman's funeral home. That was the funeral home that everyone in the community used to use from way in the beginning. And we came there and there was a big burly I don't know Irishman or Italian I don't know what he was but he wasn't Jewish in the funeral home and he didn't permit us to come in. We didn't know what to do. We called maybe we called the rabbi something back. He told us okay maybe just stay outside and stay as close as you can to the met which we did. We stayed all night in the freezing weather. The rabbi told us we have to be shame with shame. A month later my father passed away. I clearly was not going to use government. They changed over the years and now it's 1965 and he's no good for our community. So I decided I said, "But what are my family? My family is going to kill me if I change it. So I have to figure out a way to do it." And I was very nervous. And we go to Rabbi Kasa Kasa. I tell him the whole story. And with kindness, he says, "I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to call Harama." Harama was then the head of the I went to meet Harama. I told him I want him in the car when he passed the house, but it's you're not going to do this. Tah is taking care of everything. They're really doing, but I want my mother to think you're doing it. My cass told me exactly how to do it. Go to Harama, get him in the car, make sure he passes the house, and you're doing the right thing, my son. And he gave me not only to help me and allow me to do it, but he told me how I should do it to make my mother happy, too. >> He was also the most humble person. He didn't show that he's gul. In fact, many times like many cabalist. He kept quiet. [Music] Managing a growing community is a difficult task. Many issues arise. Disputes amongst the people, friction in families, challenges affecting religious and educational growth. It takes a certain type of leader to be able to work with it all. >> He would able to close his eyes to certain things and make believe that he didn't see it. He knew that if we can just keep everybody whole for now, the time will come where the blessing of Hashem will just resurge back to the spirituality that we had. And uh and he was right. Be always from student of a shalom. You love peace be shalom. You're pursuing peace. You love the people and you bring him close to the Torah. That was his approach. That was his approach. And he accomplished to keep the community together. He would use words like darling, honey, sweetheart. And this is the way he would talk to the people. But behind that sweet image was a very strong man. and he meant business and he knew how to accomplish this through his sweetness. He involved himself in family disputes, making peace between uh feuding partners. That was a priority to him. The first minan in the 67th Street Shul which was the main sh in for the community Benson was much bigger than the regular man. And the reason why was that the first man people all went to work on Shabbat. They were going to work. He told them, "Come to Sha before work. Come to the first minyan." He encouraged them. That took a tremendous foresight and wisdom. He took his eye away from the work and said, "Okay, come to sh the first vignette. Come there." He had the wisdom and the foresight and the knowledge to be able to understand our people. It reminds me of a story many years later. We when we first came to deal we're going back 47 years ago and we wanted to open up other shel came. So we're thinking of opening up in West Long branch. The problem however was was that almost everyone that would have come to the school in West Long Branch was uh working on Shabbat. But not only working on Shabbat privately, but working on publicly which clearly says is not. You can't use them as we didn't know what to do. We went to Rabbi Rosenbl at the time, one of the Gulim that we we used to talk to, and he asked me the following question. If they're smoking a cigarette on Shabbat and Rabbi Kassen would be walking down the block, would they ditch the cigarette? Would they throw away the cigarette? I say absolutely every person they would hide the cigarette, throw it away. If they would do that, that means that they're not called even though in front of everyone. [Music] But if they're not going to be before a like rabbi, it's a sign that down deep they're that they're privately but that's it's not called a public Sabbath uh breaker and therefore they're permitted to become part of the that was the philosophy of Rabbi K that it may be that they're doing even but he encouraged them to come to why cuz he knew that that's not called the person who was not allowed to be missed after he saw that they wanted to keep Shabbat the proof of the came to sh in the morning they wanted to they were anus and therefore he treated them with tremendous respect tremendous love and ultimately all those people started to keep Shabbat their children surely kept Shabbat and that's how the community starts to change forch. If you ask any member of uh our community, no matter how religious or irreligious they are, you know, what what brand of Judaism do you associate with? And everybody will say Orthodox. And that's a guy that's driving on Shabbat. And that's the guy that's eating tariff. and the guy doesn't keep too many of the fast days, but God forbid call that guy conservative and he'll punch you in the nose. Now, what what gives a community at the time that maybe doesn't have all the religious observance that the Torah demands, but one thing is clear, we're Orthodox. Rabbi Kassen put that in their brains. You're all part of the congregation, and it's an orthodox congregation. He said, "We're not judging the way you live, but when you're part of the community, you're part of the community that's an orthodox community." Inside of him was so much love to every individual. He didn't lower anybody. He look even the people they're not on the right track. He look only positive. The way he spoke to the people softly, nicely with love only beautiful word he used that changed the people. a bear guard. They realize he's speaking from the heart and that rich your heart. [Music] But times were not so easy in those early growing years of our community. While values were strong and tradition came first, nobody can help notice a dangerous wave starting to spread across the United States and sneak into our community. The problem of assimilation. One thing that Syrians really love is living in the community and they love their services and they love their shoes and they love their parties and they love being together. So if we can make a sort of uh like membership to be part of this unique community that doesn't exist anywhere in the world, you have to accept upon yourself that you're going to marry only within and you're not going to marry out. Even converts we're going to have to say not here once he felt there's a gap in the fence. So then it could lead to all sorts of compromises. And my mother says you could have had that those years in the 30s you could have had the whole community intermar that's how it was it was very bad and he suddenly sensed it and made a special tala and that tala saved the community without a question >> don't see any inter marriages I don't see in the community as far I know there's really cases >> the edict that you're going to be ostracized in the community was able to eventually win them over and give them the strength not to, you know, give into their desire to marry the the boy that they wanted to marry. It's unbelievable. Edict actually is hanging in every one of our synagogues. When you walk in, you see that holy document with all the signatures of all the community leaders and you don't have to read every single word and all the fine print, but we all know what that represents. It represents Rabbi Kassen's stroke of genius and stroke of prophecy. It was amazing how this man at was such a community that was not as religious close to what we are today. Wasn't close and yet to make a such a strong takana against gimm and against accepting with the understanding that you're not going to really have a gic and therefore he made this taka that saved our community without a question. Throughout our lives, we are filled by Hashem with happy occasions, not so happy occasions, and many events in between. Rabbi Kassen made it his business and top priority to attend all of them as the community was his family. As great as he was, he was accessible. He was there for the needs of the community. So, the main life cycle function, of course, is a wedding. And that takes a lot of the rabbi's time. We'd call the couple to his house way before the wedding. and just to talk to them and give them you know little tidbits of advice and uh talk about their families and he would give them pride where they came from and he would remind them uh that don't forget to go to the mcvan he would give them a little handbook and created a certain protocol for all these ceremonies that become the way things are done in this community nobody officiated out of the wedding except Hakamov there was no such thing there was one chief rabbi and Iam Sammy Hakov was the man who officiated all these rights and he kept records. He established the way the ceremony is done. It's his format. The kituba ceremony. It's the way he did it. It's it's signature. He has his way and he had his lines and he had his, you know, witicisms that he said. Everyone knew that only Rabbi Kas is going to marry you. Everyone had to go to Rabbi Kas. Everyone had to go before the wedding. His strength was he was able to reach every single person of the community regardless of religious observance. He reached everyone. Everyone knew this is the father of our community. And as the father of our community, this is the one you have to get married by and if you have to get married by you better listen to him and that's that was his strength. If he's officiating these ceremonies and he's the greatest cabalist of the last hundred years. So could you imagine the infusion of kusha that he puts in the Jewish home. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Today the Kassen family is full of leaders in our community in every right teaching Torah, learning Torah, supporting Torah, serving on boards of institutions across the entire community. All of this comes as the result of one founding father. >> Part of his legacy besides who the man was is his uh his children and his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren, his great great grandchildren. The posterity that he left to the world. I mean very unique, blessed without a doubt family. Everywhere that's good, you'll find somebody from this family that's prominent family definitely are a bunch of miniatures. It takes I guess a hundred, you know, of these Cassin families to all replicate the rabbi and they they shine in in their own way. He gave his family a pride that we are cassens and as such we are responsible for our community. We are responsible to support all the institutions in our community and every every one of his children and grandchildren and great grandchildren and great great grandchildren all have that pride. It's a tremendous pride they have in being part of the part of a family that that they go all the way back to the beginning of our community. Hakam Sha went in the same path of his father and also was cabarist quietly. He didn't force his way on the people. No, he want to hear every rabbi what had to say to give the to other rabbis and he had big kabot to every he understood exactly what the kahal need. I believe exactly that the son is the leg of his father. Exactly. I'm sure that if my father was alive now and he was able to talk to you, he would tell you, I want you not only during this week to keep this kind of good feeling of brotherhood, of unity, but I want you to always be prosper and happy and have a joyous times and continue with this love, this affection, this harmony, this tranquility that we could have among the community. >> They're the ones that support almost all the yeshiv and all the synagogues and everything that's important. Their name is there. When I was in 8th grade, I had my master and teacher bin. He taught me and my friends and he's the son-in-law of he was very close with him. He learned his way, he learned his style, he learned his, you know, behaviors and most importantly, Rabbi Baruk learned his mentality. That was his way and hashem we succeeded to see to this community flourishing becoming 10 and 20 falls than what it was growing and growing and it is my hope that will continue to grow. I consider myself very fortunate that when Rabbi Baruk passed away, he handed over the great synagogue Oil Yakov uh into my hands to be the rabbi. We're committed to uh continue and carry on the great legacy of our chief rabbi and oil is actually named after Yakov Katin. Rabbi Kassen's children uh made a very very respectful donation and they felt that there should be a synagogue named after the chief rabbi and they did even something more. The street of our synagogue is called Jacob Lane which was the only Jacob Lane in the world I think that's named after it's the only street of its kind. So you know whenever we walk into Ashul you have to remember who it's named after and therefore the shul has to follow that mahalak or that that path and that ideology and we try to keep it as close as we can all this all this Torah all this self sacrifice what we call the man has why should leave to come over He doesn't have easy time over here. Didn't make money over here. Was simple man was purees that we remember all this those people were for the kahal their merit stand forever and that go to the children grandchildren. Hashem will remember that for thousand of generation. Therefore, no wonders if you see the children that nothing that pash >> at the end of the day was right. He knew that Torah is going to return to the community. It's just when so he was like I said the bridge and he held us together until that time came. He wasn't alive to see how true that vision would become. Today we don't have a statistic of kids going to public school like we had in his time. all those issues that he knew would eventually be resolved through his tolerance and peace and his patience with the people, it came true. And therefore, everything you see today really, it's to his credit. It's the He's the father of all. Anytime we send a kid to one of our prestigious Yeshivas, you have to know it's only here because of this man's sacrifice. never died. The same way his children, his seed is alive, so too he is alive. We are all his children. We see the fruits of his work and truly Hakam Yakov is alive and with us and there is nothing we could absolutely to say to thank this man and his family what he did for our community. We have to know that every one of our people in our community has a greatness to them. Yes, they may not all be to be religious yet. They'll all be and their children will certainly be. But they have unbelievable method and unbelievable goodness. And if we could learn from Rabbi Kass to see the good in every person to see the good in every single person our community and to give him hash and give him importance and give him love and give him kindness as if he's the God himself. We would be emulating him and definitely giving his nishama a tremendous eli for in the higher world without a question. get to know the man and the children really should know. I think the yeshiva should teach uh the legacy of this man just to know the philosophy of what the community was built on and I think a lot of the philosophy is his it came from his his thinking his way his legacy must be kept on and everybody must commit to preserve that he paid for us. for we pray to Hashem that this community they have always made to learn and to teach to observe and to practice. is and to be always together. We are [Music]