Rabbi Ezra Hamway – Rosh Av Beit Din

Chacham Ezra ben Yitzchak Hamway was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1860. His father was Chacham Yitzchak Senior.

  Yahrzeit - 28 Kislev Burial place -

His parents were simple people, known in their community for their chesed and love of Torah.

Ezra descended from a line of talmidei chachamim going back to David HaMelech.

The renowned Chacham Avraham Harari-Raful noted that the verse: "And a shoot shall spring forth from the stump of Yishai, and a branch shall blossom from his roots" (Isaiah 11:1) alludes to this. The initials of the first five words of the verse spell out the name "Hamway."

Rabbi Ezra's parents lived in the Bahsita neighborhood of Aleppo. It was also known as "Harat el-Yahud - the Jewish Quarter." The neighborhood was a crowded settlement of poor Jews. Those who were more affluent lived in a wealthier district on the outskirts of Aleppo.

He learned most of his Torah from Avraham Chaim Ades.

His diligence and hard work in studying Torah with his chavruta, Avraham Chaim Ades, raised Rabbi Ezra's standing.

He was appointed as a Dayan at a young age on the Beit Din of Aram Soba.

Among his well-known students were: Chacham Rafael Shlomo Laniado, who became Rosh Yeshiva of "Porat Yosef" in Jerusalem; Chacham Yehuda Aslan Attia; and Chacham Yitzchak Chehebar, who became chief rabbi of the Syrian community of Argentina.

Rabbi Ezra Hamway left this world on 28 Kislev, 1945. It was on the fourth night of Chanukah that the head of the judges in Aram Soba, Rabbi Ezra Hamway, returned his soul at the age of 85.

Preventing a Chillul Hashem

A Jewish jeweler living in Aram Soba once found himself in a legal dispute with an Arab, brought before Rabbi Ezra.

The presence of non-Jews in the waiting room and awaiting the judgment of the venerable Chacham was an everyday occurrence that drew no attention.

The Arab had asked the jeweler to solder a broken part of his ring. When he came to collect the ring, the Arab realized that the precious stone at its center had been switched for a less valuable one, and he accused the jeweler of stealing it. The jeweler insisted he had not touched the stone. Both the jeweler and the Arab stubbornly held to their positions. The Arab said the precious stone had been swapped for a cheaper one, while the Jew maintained he had done nothing of the sort and was returning the very same ring he had been given to repair.

Eventually the Arab agreed to the jeweler's suggestion to bring the matter before Rabbi Ezra for arbitration, hoping the wise Chacham would vindicate him.

When their turn came to enter the Beit Din, the Arab presented his claim, after which the jeweler gave his version of events.

Rabbi Ezra questioned the defendant carefully and concluded that the jeweler was not telling the truth.

To prevent a chillul Hashem, Rabbi Ezra told the parties that he wished to see each of them privately, in order to question them more effectively. He first asked the Arab several questions, and then asked the jeweler to come in.

When the jeweler was alone with him, Rabbi Ezra said to him conspiratorially: "Stick to your version until the end. Don't let the court break you."

"Of course," the jeweler beamed.

"I will hold to my version no matter what happens; the questioning will not break me..."

Having drawn this partial admission from him, Rabbi Ezra's face turned stern.

In an authoritative tone, he demanded that the jeweler return the precious stone to its owner at once. The jeweler was struck speechless, overcome with shame before the Chacham. The humiliated jeweler went straight home without delay to return the stolen precious stone to its owner.

Saving a Family

Ezra's neighbor was a prominent Arab and an alcoholic. One evening he came home drunk and ordered his wife to bring him a steaming cup of coffee.

He threatened her that if she did not serve him the cup by the time he finished eating a cracker, her end would be bitter. The frightened woman rushed to make her husband coffee, as he had ordered.

She ran to the stove in the corner of the house, quickly lit the fire, put the kettle on, and waited nervously for it to boil. Meanwhile, her husband sat on the couch, gnawing on a dry cracker.

He finished it before his wife brought him the coffee. Flying into a rage, he shouted: "You are divorced! You are divorced! You are divorced!"

(Under Islamic law, repeating these words three times legally finalizes a divorce.)

A few hours later, the husband sobered up and realized the severity of his behavior.

He had divorced his wife in a fit of anger, but how could he take back his words?

Anxiously, he went to the local Sheikh to ask how he could retract his words in order to live with his wife again.

But the Sheikh only said: "Under Islamic law you are divorced! You have no way to take back your words, because your wife failed to carry out her husband's will."

In his grief, the Arab turned to his neighbors and told them what he had done, weeping over his bitter fate. The neighbors were not impressed with the Sheikh and advised him to turn to the Jewish Rabbi Ezra, whose wisdom could be relied upon to find a way to annul the divorce.

The Arab went straight to Rabbi Ezra's house without delay.

The Chacham listened to him attentively.

The Arab hoped that the Jewish leader would annul his divorce, but to his surprise, Rabbi Ezra refused to render a decision.

"I cannot judge this alone," the Chacham told the husband. "I will only rule on this case if the Qadi and the Sheikh invite me to judge it."

The Arab went to the Qadi and the Sheikh and urgently asked them to order Rabbi Ezra to hear his case before them. They agreed to invite the Jewish leader and waited eagerly to hear what he would say.

The husband again asked the judges to allow the couple to remain married, while the Qadi and the Sheikh insisted that under Islamic law he was divorced.

Then Rabbi Ezra stood up and said: "Perhaps I can find a way to allow the couple to remain married even according to the laws of Islam."

The Qadi and the Sheikh nodded their heads, waiting to hear his words.

Then Rabbi Ezra asked the husband: "Were the crackers you ate while your wife was making coffee fresh or dry?" "Dry, very dry," the husband answered.

"That's why I was so thirsty," the unfortunate husband added.

Rabbi Ezra turned to the Qadi and the Sheikh and said: "It is well known that when someone eats a dry cracker, crumbs from it can always be found on the floor."

"True," the Qadi and the Sheikh agreed.

Then Rabbi Ezra said to the husband: "You told your wife that if you finished the whole cracker and she had not brought you the coffee, you would divorce her."

"True," the husband confirmed.

Rabbi Ezra explained: "Since the cracker was dry and crumbs undoubtedly fell from it, you could not have eaten the entire cracker. If that is so, your wife did not disobey you, and there were no grounds for divorce. Therefore, you are not divorced, and you are permitted to remain married."

The astonished Qadi and Sheikh heard Rabbi Ezra's ruling and praised his sharpness and brilliance.

The two of them whispered to each other in amazement: "Happy is the nation that has such great leaders!"