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Okay, friends, you see the ocean in the
background. It's a perfect opportunity
to get some of the background of
Moroccan jewelry and literally one of
the most seinal events in Jewish
history. If you could count on one hand,
the seinal events of the last 2,000
years, this would be right up there.
This is known as the story of the
Arbashuyim, the four captives. This is
recorded by the Rivid. It's recorded by
Rivid I not to be confused by Rivid II
or Rivid III. Rivid III is the Rivid
Balhas on the Rambam. He wrote the
footnotes on the Rambam on my manities.
His father-in-law was Rivid II. We're
now talking about Ry the first, Rabinu
Aram Bar who lived from 1110 to 1180. He
was a student of a student of the riff
and he wrote a classic work of Jewish
history called Sepher
Hakabala Safer Hakabala and he records
an amazing story amazing account I
remember when I was in yeshiva I learned
in yeshiva and arashiva's father
was the rebi of
came to speak at the yard site of Rabbd
Ali of his Rebi and Ra Pam said over
this historic account and he said that
there are times in Jewish history where
in order to preserve the Jewish people
Hashem makes a very significant event
occur to preserve the Tyra of Kal this
in the it says this this occurred in the
year 990
990 however however the do says it's a
toyer It could not have happened in the
year 990. It happened had to happen
about 30 years early in the year 960.
Now let me just paint a picture for you.
Since the close of the Tammed Bavi, from
the time Ravina Raashi sealed the
Babylonian Talmud, the seat of power of
Tory lay in Babylon in Babel in the
great yeshiva in Babel Surah Padisa
Neher from the time of the Katam the
time of the Rabano
and the times of the goim all the way
until Raviun and Ravhigin. So how did
Toyra come to Europe? How did Torah come
to North Africa? In the year 990,
an event occurred or as we said in the
year 960 actually an event occurred that
forever changed the course of Jewish
history.
Let me just continue to paint the
picture because Tory of Bavl was very
different than the Torah of the
Ashkanaz. What was the main distinction?
The main distinction was the tora of is
what we call kabala which means the
profoundity of talmudic analysis was not
the most critical ingredient. What was
most critical was the authentic
tradition going back to the am and the
the tradition of the goim the goim it's
called dé kabala however the ashkanaz
the house of rashi it really originated
in Italy gave precedence and prominence
to the depth of tudic analysis
and we're going to see that in north
Africa these two schools of learning
were fused together. So in the year 990,
four great goim set sail. There's a big
discussion. Where did they come from?
Where were they going? Some say they
left Babylon. They were collecting money
for the kala. Kala meaning the yeshiva
in Bavl. However, many historians say no
kala means haknosas kala. And they did
not set sail from Babylon. They set sail
from Barry Italy. from Bar Barry, Italy.
There was a pirate. His name was Deahin.
He was the captain of the fleet of
Khalif Al Rahman al- Nazar of Cordoba.
And he captured these four great goim.
Their names were Rabinu Kushiel, the
father of Rabenu Kanan, Rabenu Mosa, the
father of Rabi Kan, Rabinuary Baran, and
the fourth one, we don't know their
name. And
these four go alltime great were
redeemed by four different communities.
Rabinu Shimaria was redeemed by Egypt.
And when the Egyptian community redeemed
him, Egypt became a center of a great
Torah academy. So now the the shift of
power, the power is shifting from
Babylon to Egypt.
In Spain, they redeemed Rabenu Mosa, the
father of Kano. Now in Spain at the
time, the leader of Spanish jewelry was
somebody by the name of Rabenu Nasan.
But they were learning a c a particular
suga and the suga was ala
hazah and raen nasan was not able to
explain it fully and they turned to this
newly redeemed captive Rabenu Misha and
surprisingly Raben Mosha was able to
explain the suga lucidly cogently and
Rabenu Nasan said well you explain it
better than I do. Rabenu Nasan stepped
down from the yeshiva and he gave the
leadership over to Rabenu Mosa. Now it's
interesting in today's day and age
rarely will you see a rashiva step down.
That's a very rare phenomenon.
>> Intellectual honesty.
>> Intellectual honesty. What's that?
Right. But actually back then they used
to have intellectual honesty. and Rabenu
Nasan stepped down for Rabenu Mosa. And
then the Cordova community which was led
politically by Kastai Iben
Shaput in in uh the Torah Academy. It
was led by Rabenu Mosha. Now by the way,
Rabenu Mosa was on the boat and he had a
wife, a very beautiful woman. And the
pirate Damahin had his eyes set on the
wife of Rabeno Mosha and he was going to
abduct her. And she asked her husband in
lashes,
if I jump overboard, will I haveim?
And responded based on the Genarashem,
which means that even if somebody dies
in the seven seas and his molecules
decompose, God will reconstitute the
molecules in the resurrection of the
dead. and she thereby jumped overboard
and she killed herself. She was mister
Rabenuiel
was redeemed by the community in North
Africa. Namely, he came to El Kuan. You
know where Kuan is?
>> Alexand
>> Caruan is
>> Tunis. Tunis.
>> Tunis. Friends, Tunis became another
center of to of Torah scholarship. So
now the seed of power is moving from
Babylon to Egypt to Tunis and to Spain.
Now Rabin Kushiel had an eminent son.
You know who his son was? Anybody know?
If anybody knows, they're going to get
an extra portion of Shakshuka.
Rabenuiel's son was Rabenu Kananel. The
great reshine the says about
that his words are kabala kabala means
he had the authentic tradition from the
friends
the says we have a tradition there areim
buried in tunis
youf is working on public relations
between the Jewish community and Tunis
and Jerba maybe one day we'll have tours
yeah in Tunis we'll go to the kadikim of
the goim in Tunis. Okay. So we have
Rabinu
and Rabu Kananel.
Rabino Kananel has a very good friend
Ravisim.
If you look at on the side of the page
you have the commentary of Ravisim.
By the way if you look in you know Brah
starts on Daf
>> B right of course Gumar starts on D. But
before d we have the introduction to
shas. Who wrote the introduction to
shasan raisim
raisim and rainoanel were students of
rauiel
is one of the hostages. Soiel he comes
to tunis his two students his son and
the now by the way if you walk away from
this trip with one yady I would like it
to be this. You know we always talk
about the we talk about the
who were the first generation of the
saysanos
he's the first generation of theim
raanim
and then ravenu raisim had a mutin
and he wrote something called hatalmudag
These were the first three
says the first three rishim
raenu raan
raisim and hanog now rau kananel has an
illustrious student anybody know who's
the studentanel
raitzk
alasi the riff and the riff already is
in fez and now we know how tora came
from babylon
to Tunis
to Fez to Morocco. It all came about in
the year 960. The story of the arashuim
which brought Tory from the times of the
rishim to the times from the times of
the Gim to the times of the rishim in
North Africa. Now you have the fusion of
two schools of Talmudic thought. You
have the traditions of the goim brought
by Raanel fused together with the
talmudic analysis of the rishim and this
brought the golden age of Moroccan jury
throughelanel
[snorts]
and Kasi who by the way is alluded to in
this week's para there's a safer
and there inim
it's brought the
to the riff israimdal
that's to the greatness of a rabbit
who is right here in this country in
Morocco. Now the rishinim did not yet
eat shakshuka. That was not part of
their breakfast. But they did bring
the glory of Tory to Clausal Israel for
all eternity. Thank you very much.
