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Fifty-fifth yahrtzeit: 18th of Cheshvan 5785:
A Servant of Hashem - HaRav Refael Baruch Toledano zt"l
By R' Yitzchok Toledano
Part I
This article was published in the print edition in 1993.
For Part II of this series click here.
The great gaon, R' Rafael Boruch Toledano would sign his letters with the words: "eved Hashem." This simple description defined his worldly mission and marked his every deed. The members of his community also viewed him in this light, for he devoted himself to their spiritual and physical needs so selflessly.
He resided in Eretz Yisroel for only six years, yet in that brief time her inhabitants learned to recognize and appreciate his great worth.
He did not wait for people to come to hear his rebukes. He would go out to them, to their cities, villages and settlement. He utilized every opportunity to arouse the people, and at assemblies and election rallies, he would spread Torah. His sweet and heartfelt words penetrated the hearts of his listeners and drew them closer to Torah.
At his funeral, R' Adas of Bnei Brak said: "It is written, `For six years you shall sow your fields, for six years you shall prune your vineyards, and on the seventh, the land shall lay fallow.' We are your vineyards, your fields. The numerous bereavement announcements placed on bulletin boards throughout the city testify that you were beloved and revered by Jews from all communities. The weeping and wailing heard at your funeral prove how great is our loss."
HaRav Toledano is in the center
Ish Haeshkolos
Anyone attempting to compile his sayings, as well as descriptions of his deeds, lifestyle and study methods, will discover a magnificent tapestry, and a vividly illustrated picture of a spiritual giant, a brilliant scholar, and a precise model of the Sephardic gedolim of yore. He was perfect and unblemished, and it was not in vain that the HaRav Yehuda Tzadka, zt'l, former rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef, called him: "The pillar of fire which walked before the people."
He also eulogized him saying: "Now, who will represent the Sephardic greats of old? [From his example] we learned to strive for perfection in all areas of Torah and in all aspects of Divine service, such as Torah, prayer, mussar and chassidus. He was the great leader who drank from the best of all groups, from the goodness of the chassid and the Lithuanian Jew, the goodness of the learned scholar and the simple man. He was a remarkable blend of all that is noble."
A Living Torah Scroll
R' Yaakov Galinsky, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Chadera, relates: "One time, I accompanied him to a teshuva rally at a settlement. After he finished speaking, he clasped the hands of the children who had come with their parents to hear him, and danced with them ecstatically. When someone remarked that it was beneath the dignity of so great a Torah sage to dance with small children, he replied: `But they are living Torah scrolls, Jewish children, whose souls are pure and whose Torah remains with them.'"
Building a Mikveh in One Night
R' Galinsky then added: "That night, the taxi driver lost his way, and we arrived at the rally quite late. The audience was disappointed, and assuming that R' Rafael would not come at all, went home. Only a few people remained in the auditorium, waiting. When R' Rafael finally arrived, he mounted the platform, and without hesitation began to speak as if he was addressing a large throng.
As usual, he spoke with deep emotion and trepidation about the deterioration of the sanctity of the Jewish home, and of the extreme importance of giving one's children a Torah true education. At the end of his speech, after his heartfelt words had been thoroughly absorbed by his listeners, the members of the settlement tearfully told him that they had no mikveh.
Immediately, he replied: `Today, a mikveh will be founded,' and donated a large sum of money for it. Then he turned to me, and said: `How much will you give?' Seeing how stirred he was, I donated a similar sum. Immediately afterwards, he appealed with his audience to follow suit.
At the close of the appeal, he headed for the homes of some of the supporters of the settlement, and solicited their donations too. The very next morning, construction of the mikveh began."
An Aharon Hakodesh in Meknes Morocco
Holiday Shoes
He never asked the wealthy members of his community how much they could donate; he designated a quota for each, and also decided how many bnei Torah would dine at their tables. As a result of this policy he was able to bring the refugees from all of Morocco's villages to his hometown.
A student who yearned to study Torah had only to come to Meknes, and all his needs would be taken care of by none other than the Rav himself.
In his eulogy, his son, R' Yosef shlita, said that R' Rafael personally attended to the needs of nearly two thousand students.
One student, who is now a chief rabbi in Be'er Sheva, relates: "One time while distributing holiday supplies and provisions to his students, he forgot to give me a pair of shoes. Erev Succos, just before sunset, he recalled this oversight, and told his attendant to bring me a pair immediately."
Encouraging Torah Students
He penetrated the recesses of every heart. One time, an orphan who was studying in a yeshiva ketana in Ramat Hasharon, approached him and tearfully said: "Some of my classmates taunt me so that my father appeared to one of them in a dream, and warned him to stop torturing me."
Turning to the child, R' Rafael said: "Tell me a dvar Torah."
The child opened with words of the Rambam, and delivered a fine dvar Torah. Immediately, R' Rafael rose, planted a kiss on the youth's forehead and told him: "Blessed are you, my son. Blessed are you that you have merited to study Torah and to understand it."
These words so delighted the child, that he returned to his yeshiva happy and encouraged.
Everyone is Special
R' Rafael not only praised everyone's good points, but attempted to discover each one's singular and unique qualities in order to further encourage them.
One time, a student from Tifferes Tsion visited him. When Rabbenu saw him, he inquired after his welfare, and turned to the other people in the room, saying: "Do you know who he is? He is a very talented singer, yet devotes all his energies to Torah study."
Jewish Souls
Every Jewish soul was dear to him, and he was willing to exert himself for the sake of every Jew. Stories abound how, in his old age, he would walk long distances in order to register youths in yeshivos. One time, a certain rosh yeshiva saw R' Rafael approaching with a student to be tested for admission to his yeshiva. Embarrassed, the rosh yeshiva said: "You shouldn't have gone out of your way. We would have come to you."
During the test, R' Rafael answered the questions of the rosh yeshiva before the youth had a chance to open his mouth. That way he forced the rosh yeshiva to accept the lad.
A recent biography of HaRav Toledano
Tolerance for Students
His son, R' Yosef Toledano, shlita is an excellent speaker who delivers rousing mussar sermons. He relates:
"A meshulach once visited my father in Morocco in order to solicit funds for a certain European yeshiva. However, the authorities arrested him on false charges, and imprisoned him. When my father learned of this he was terrified, and set out to release him. After a great deal of effort, he managed to free him, and even held a thanksgiving meal in honor of the occasion. During the meal, my father was so overjoyed that he nearly lifted the meshulach on his shoulders.
"After the meal, though, he summoned him to his private room, and said: "It is written that mitzvah- emissaries are not harmed. Why then were you imprisoned? What sin have you committed?"
The meshulach replied that he had no idea why he had been punished. However, my father continued to probe him. When he saw that the meshulach simply could not answer his questions, he said:
"I will tell you why you were punished. In your yeshiva, delinquent students are expelled immediately, and that is a very grave matter, because who knows how low such students will fall once they leave the yeshiva's four walls. In such cases, you must be more tolerant towards your students, because it is quite possible, that if they are given the proper attention they will improve instead of degenerating."
Hashem Will Take Care of My Children
He loved every Jewish child, and would help roshei yeshivos establish their institutions, encouraging them and soliciting funds for them. One of his grandchildren, R' Nissim Toledano, now also a rosh yeshiva, once said to him: "Saba, you worry about everyone in the world. But what about us?"
To this he replied: "I attend to the needs of Hashem's children, and He takes care of my children."
Today, we see that he had made a profitable deal. As a result of his concern for Hashem's sons, Hashem indeed took care of his children and grandchildren, and many of them are important roshei yeshiva today.
All Soul and No Body
One time, R' M. Malka, rosh yeshiva of Ohel Moshe, came to take R' Rafael on a fundraising campaign for the yeshiva of which R' Rafael was president. Before leaving his house, R' Rafael opened a window, looked up to Heaven, and pleaded with Hashem to help him, so that he would, in turn, be able to help Hashem's sons.
The two began to make a virtual door to door appeal. In time, the much younger R' Malka grew weary, but R' Rafael, who was over eighty at the time, was brimming with verve and vigor. At R' Rafael's funeral, R' Malka said: "He was so energetic because he was all soul, and not one bit body."
The Lad Is Not With Me
He saw his purpose in Eretz Yisroel as returning the wayward to the fold, and not in being a rav. He said as much openly, at the Knessia Gedola of Agudas Yisroel: "How will I go up to my Father, and the lad is not with me?"
His son, R' Yaakov Toledano, head of the Mercaz HaTorah Institutions in France, said that he visited his father in Bnei Brak, soon after he founded his institutions. Answering his father's query, he said that he had eighty students.
His father said, "What will be with the Jews of France? That is such a small amount!"
The son answered, "To grow we need money and work, and we are just starting out."
Answered his father, "I will leave with you immediately for France, to recruit soldiers for HaKodosh Boruch Hu."
This occurred less than a year before he passed away, and he was not, in fact, able to carry out this plan.
His Prayers
His prayers were so heartfelt, that R' Shalom Mashash once said: "From him, we learn the true meaning of praying."
"One time," relates the gaon, R' Shmuel Wosner, Av Beis Din of Zichron Meir of Bnei Brak, "I was awakened by the plaintive sound of weeping. When I asked what had happened, someone replied, `R' Rafael Boruch Toledano is reciting tikkun chatzos.'"
And indeed, every night he would rise like a lion, before midnight, in order to recite the Tikkun. He would also pray with the vosikin. However, he would linger so long at his prayers, that his minyan always ended last. He regarded every word he pronounced as a precious coin, and his prayers were heart-rending and tearful.
His Yomim Noraim prayers are unforgettable. At such times, he would pour out his heart before his Maker, with tearful pleas. On Tisha B'Av, he would recite the kinos, and shed copious tears. One time on Tisha B'Av he sent one of his students to his home, to exchange his wet handkerchiefs for dry ones.
Chazoras HaShatz
The gaon, R' M. Deutsch, relates that R' Rafael once davened mincha in Kollel Chazon Ish. To the surprise of all, in the middle of chazoras hashatz, he stopped the cantor, clapped his hands on the pulpit, and chastised the congregation, saying: "Don't you hear the cantor? Why don't you respond to his blessing with Amen?"
He then spoke about the serious ramifications of their transgression, and at the end of his rebuke, told the cantor to continue. He did this in every synagogue he visited, whenever he felt it necessary. Even the Kitzur Shulchan Oruch, who explained most laws very succinctly, dwelled at length on the matter of speaking during chazoras hashatz, even illustrating this point with a story.
A Hushed Prayer
The gaon R' Shlomo Wolbe eulogized him, saying: "I recognized his greatness from one mincha prayer which he recited when he visited our yeshiva in Be'er Yaakov. That sole Silent Devotion taught me much about the essence of prayer. True, it was uttered in a whisper, yet many were the silent cries and screams which burst forth from it."
As a Hart Yearns
His gentle soul, which so longed for its Maker, knew no rest until he had composed songs about lofty values, such as Ashora Shira, Lichvod HaTorah, which is today sung all over, and the beautiful song, Shabbos which delights many. He would sing them at every occasion, giving vent to his deep feelings and yearning for His Creator.
He is Still Praying
Even under pressure, he davened slowly and with kavana. R' Shalom Mashash relates: "One time he was in a rush to attend a Hachnosas Sefer Torah celebration. Yet he continued to recite his prayers as if no one was waiting for him. Many minyanim had ended, yet he continued to pour out his heart before his Maker. Every rosh chodesh, when the ark was opened, he would sing his beloved Ozreini Kail Chai, with such emotion, that the entire congregation would be swept up by his fervor. Anyone standing beside him at such times, would tremble with fear of G-d."
The Gates of Tears Are Not Closed
In 5701, a drought plagued Meknes. As a result, R' Rafael summoned the entire Jewish populace to an assembly at the old cemetery in the Jewish Mala'ach Quarter, asking them to fast and recite the Yom Kippur Koton prayers on that day.
On the designated day, the entire congregation appeared. Tearfully, Rabbenu pleaded with them, aroused them to repent and led them in the recitation of selichos. Deeply stirred, the entire throng wept along with him. As the sun was about to set, the skies grew dark with thick clouds, and rain began to fall.
Guarding the Sanctity of Shabbos
The members of his community, who were imbued with emunas chachomim and yiras Shomayim, so loved and esteemed him that they would bear even his rebukes and chastisements in silence. Every Erev Shabbos he would visit the city's marketplaces, prodding its Jewish shopkeepers to close their businesses two hours before sunset.
One time, one of the barbers lingered a bit in his store. Seeing this, R' Rafael tapped on the window of the barber shop with his cane, shattering its glass. The barber lowered his head in silence, and his customers fled, lest Rabbenu fine them too.
An Educational Swimming Pool
He was a staunch guardian of pure Jewish education, and did his utmost to thwart the alien winds which threatened his community. So deep was his devotion to this cause, that he once donated a large sum of money for the construction of a swimming pool where the rules of modesty would be observed. He did this in order to prevent the youth of his town from visiting mixed pools.
In an unprecedented act, he sent his children and grandchildren to study abroad, so that they could better advance in Torah. His granddaughter was the first Moroccan girl to leave home in order to study in a chareidi seminary in England.
He once attended a bar mitzvah celebration, where the father and brother of the bar mitzvah boy served the guests. Turning to the bar mitzvah boy, he said: "You are now obligated to observe the mitzvos. How can you remain seated, while your father and brother are waiting on the guests? Rise, and help them."
The startled youth did not know whether or not Rabbenu was serious, and hesitated. Seeing this, Rabbenu shouted: "What are you waiting for? Rise and help your father, for you are obligated to observe the mitzvos."
Educating His Children
He expressed his love for his children by kissing them only when they were fast asleep. He did this, so that they would not boast to their friends since their father was the rav of the city. His son, R' Yaakov shlita relates that in his letters to his sons, he did not ask how they felt, but how they were progressing in Torah, for that was all he demanded of them.
An Innovator in Yiras Shomayim
His grandson, R' Nissim Toledano zt"l, rosh yeshiva of Shearis Yosef, in Be'er Yaakov, eulogized him, saying: "There are those who make Torah innovations, and those who make mussar innovations. My grandfather's greatness lay in his ability to make innovations in order to increase his yiras Shomayim."
Less Than Hillel
One cloudy day, as he was about to leave home for his beis medrash, his wife said to him.: "You are old, and must guard your health."
He replied: "Hillel was older than I when he was covered by a thick layer of snow. By going to the beis medrash on a cloudy day, I am surely doing less than Hillel!"
One wintry Shabbos, he set out to deliver his weekly sermon in Bnei Brak at the Central Synagogue of Mashad's Immigrants. Although rain fell in torrents, he did not stop on the way or attempt to seek shelter. He arrived in the synagogue so drenched that the attendants had to remove his headdress, scarf and two outer coats, and to seat him beside a heater so that he would not become ill.
End of Part I
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