Written by a Family Member
Everyone who knew Rabbi Jemal knew that he was a great man, a malach who loved everybody. To someone who didnt know him, it is very hard to describe who he was on paper. The Rabbi was humble beyond words, and always had true simcha that was contagious. He treated every individual with respect, always careful to never make anyone feel bad. Many knew him as a great rabbi and a leader, but I also knew him as a dear uncle.
Growing up, the rabbi was our leader and role model, and was always there for us in time of need. When our family left Beirut, my mother was a young woman with five children under the age of 6. My father was unable to travel on the same route as us, and she was uneasy taking the trip alone. My mother approached Rabbi Jemal, who was a young boy at the time, and asked him to travel with her. The flight was the same day. Within a few hours, he was dressed, packed, and on the plane with us to a new country. Even at such a young age, Rabbi Jemal’s selflessness was extraordinary. Whenever we had any type of problem, we would call Rabbi Jemal and we would be comforted in knowing that he would help us with whatever it was.
He was the youngest of eleven, yet all of his siblings looked up to him with awe and respect. They never called him by his first name, but rather referred to him as “The Hacham”. He was our spiritual rock, he elevated and inspired us in great ways. When he was a young man in his twenties, my mother noticed him walking with his head slightly bent. Concerned, she asked him why he was walking this way, by which he responded that one should not walk with his head up, as it is a sign of arrogance. From then on, whenever we saw him walking, it was with his head slightly bent. This was just an inkling of the profound anavah he exhibited. While one of the traits of the Jemal family is anavah, he was the epitome of this middah.
The rabbi was also a mohel, and loved doing brit millot. Once, he was asked to do a brit milah in Manhattan, for a family that was not so affiliated with Judaism. During the brit, instead of singing traditional songs that are usually sung, he started to sing “hava nagilla”. Immediately, the whole room transformed as the crowd started to sing and dance, radiating happiness. He celebrated everyone’s simcha as if it was his own. He attended every one of our semachot, and sang and danced as if it was his child getting married, or his child that was born.
My son recounts how after he got married, Rabbi Jemal would start singing “od yishama” and break out into a dance whenever he saw him in the street. Even two years after the wedding! To Rabbi Jemal, every person was the most important person in the world. And everyone he encountered felt it. True, genuine care radiated off him whenever he would interact with someone. Even when dealing with people that were far from his level, he always knew how to lift them up and make them feel good. For many years, the rabbi taught children from public school for no charge and never said a word about it. He didn’t want anyone to know about his great acts and the multitude of what he was doing for these children.
Every Shabbat, my sons would go to Rabbi Jemal for tehillim class. He would give out prizes and candy, and instill in the boys a love for Torah and Hashem. He always looked forward to holidays and celebrated them with great exuberance. As a child, my family would attend his Pesach sedarim. Those sedarim were truly uplifting experiences that I’ll never forget. During chad gadya and mi yodea, he would get up and re-enact the stories with singing and dancing that would put a smile on everyone’s faces. Years later, when I got married and moved a few houses down from the rabbi, we would hear him erupt into joyous zemirot from his backyard every Sukkot.
My children would get so excited when they would hear him, and would join in from our own Sukkah with much enthusiasm. The love for Torah that he instilled in us is still part of me today. One of my sons once ate a shabbat meal with the rabbi in Israel. The host and his family sang a song talking about longing to serve Hashem and running after Hashem. Rabbi Jemal who never heard the song before was moved to tears by the song. It impacted my son so much as he recognized that it was the rabbi’s life mission to serve Hashem. When the rabbi was hospitalized, family and friends were brainstorming to come up with ways that could help him. So much so that the president of the hospital exclaimed: “Who is this man? I’ve been getting calls from so many different people who are concerned about him. It’s as if he’s the president!”. The rabbi was loved by all, with so many considering him a close friend.
Rabbi Jemal was a great man, a Hacham, a leader, and a beacon of light amongst us. His love for Hashem and for mitzvot was astronomical, and his love for each and every person will be felt for eternity. May his memory be blessed.
