Masoud Rafael Alfasi

Rabbi Masoud Rafael Alfasi (1774) - was born in the city of Fez in the Kingdom of Morocco. One day Rabbi Alfasi decided to set out for the Holy Land and joined a caravan of camel traders leaving Fez and heading toward the Holy Land. After many days of traveling through the Moroccan desert, Rabbi Alfasi realized that on the sixth day, Friday, the caravan was still in the arid desert. He got down from his camel and announced that he would stay behind in the desert so as not to travel on Shabbat. "What? Have you lost your mind?" his fellow travelers exclaimed. "You cannot stay alone in the desert. The sun is scorching, the wind is harsh, the ground is dry, and there are wild animals that could tear you apart. Even a camel wouldn't want to stay here." But Rabbi Alfasi would not be swayed. The members of the caravan argued with him for an hour, but he did not budge, so they reluctantly continued on their way to Tunis, leaving the rabbi alone in the desert for Shabbat. As evening fell, Rabbi Alfasi took a stick and drew a circle in the sand around himself, recited the evening prayer, and began his Shabbat meal. When he finished the meal, he saw a lion running toward him in the distance. The rabbi was not afraid. He finished Birkat HaMazon after the meal, and when the lion reached the circle drawn around the rabbi, it simply stopped and sat down. In the morning the rabbi woke up, recited the morning prayer, and prepared for the rest of Shabbat. The lion stayed awake the whole day. After Shabbat, the rabbi placed his bags on the lion's back, mounted the lion, and set off for Tunis. When Rabbi Alfasi rode into the city on the lion, the people of Tunis were shocked and frightened; many fled to their homes and barricaded their doors. Rabbi Alfasi asked the people not to be afraid: "this lion is a kind lion. It will not harm anyone." Rabbi Alfasi got off the lion and settled into an inn. He thanked the lion, and the lion galloped away from the city back into the desert. A few days later, the caravan arrived in the city, and the rabbi's former traveling companions were not only amazed to see that Rabbi Alfasi had survived the desert, but that he had arrived ahead of them by several days. "Join us when we continue on to the Holy Land," said the caravan drivers. But Rabbi Alfasi did not join them. During his last few days in Tunis, he had gotten to know the Jewish community and saw that they needed a new teacher. So Rabbi Masoud Rafael Alfasi remained in Tunis and built a famous academy. The resting place of the tzadik Rabbi Masoud Rafael Alfasi is in Tunis. (https://www.nehora.com/pages/Rabbi-Masoud-Refael-Alfasi-of-Tunisia.html)