The Threads We Carry

Reflections on gratitude, heritage, and the giants who shaped our community

LIVING LEGACY: CARRYING FEZ INTO THE FUTURE

How one man’s journey reminds us what it means to build home, history, and hope

A Life That Spanned Continents and Centuries

Attending the memorial service of Sam Bensimmon, who journeyed from Fez, Morocco to Maryland in 1967, felt less like recalling a past life and more like standing in the presence of a living legend. At 102, Sam’s story stretched across continents, empires, and eras. His lifetime encompassed the creation of the State of Israel, the transformation of Jewish life across the world, and the courage of those who carried tradition across oceans.

Listening to his children and grandchildren, I realized they were not simply sharing memories. They were reliving a legacy; a tapestry woven from faith, humility, humor, and the quiet dignity of a man who lived through history and helped shape the community we now call home.

Crossing Borders, Carrying Torah

Sam’s journey echoed the ancient call of Lech Lecha: “Go forth from your land… to the place that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Like Abraham, he stepped into the unknown with faith as his compass. He left behind the familiar rhythms of Fez, the narrow alleys, the “melodies of the mellah”, and the warmth of a tight‑knit Jewish world. He was not alone. Jews from Fez, Casablanca, Marrakesh, Meknes, Tétouan (Little Jerusalem) and beyond made similar journeys. Some arrived to ready‑made communities.

Others re‑created Morocco in pockets of America, stitching their heritage into the fabric of this country. They brought their piyutim, their recipes, their blessings, their humility, and their deep sense of kehilla. As someone who moved from India in my twenties, I felt the weight and wonder of that journey; the uncertainty, the hope, the determination to belong. The desire to carry forward the Torah and traditions of our ancestors while building a new life in a new land.

What Is Community? More Than a Place

Reflecting on Sam’s life revealed that community is far more than a physical space or gathering. It is the living presence of those who carry tradition forward; the people who show up, who build, who remember, and who give meaning to every prayer and every act of kindness. The Torah teaches, “They shall make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them”- (Exodus 25:8). Not in structures of stone, but in hearts bound together by faith and purpose.

Sam embodied that truth; his life was a sanctuary built of devotion, humility, and continuity; a reminder that community is not found, it is created, one soul at a time. Our Sages teach in Ta’anit 23a: “A person plants trees so that others may enjoy the shade.” Sam planted such trees. We sit in their shade today.

The Poetry of the Soul

During the service, the family recited a poem by Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra; a poem Sam cherished deeply and specifically requested be read at his memorial. One line stayed with me: “The soul is Yours; the body is Your work.” It is a simple truth, yet profound. It reminds us that our lives are entrusted to us, and our task is to return them enriched by kindness, mitzvot, and community. Sam lived with that clarity. His humility was not quiet because he lacked words; it was quiet because he understood what mattered.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Our synagogue exists because founders like Sam believed in planting roots for future generations. They built not only a building but a spiritual home. They brought the warmth of Moroccan hospitality, the melodies of their youth, and the deep sense of responsibility that comes from centuries of Jewish continuity. We truly walk on the shoulders of giants; people who gave us history, identity, and momentum. Their courage is the foundation on which we stand.

Among Sam’s peers was Max, also from Fez, who arrived in America via Algeria and Israel; and G-d willing, will turn 100 this July. Their generation carried the same quiet strength; men who crossed oceans with little more than faith, family, and the determination to build a Jewish future in a new land.

A Community Built by Many Journeys

The community they helped build; Magen David Sephardic Congregation; reflects the remarkable range of stories that converged in the Nation’s Capital. Families arrived from Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and India, each carrying memories of the worlds they left behind.

What emerged was not a replica of any one place, but a shared home shaped by the melodies, customs, and quiet resilience of those who gathered here. MDSC became a place where people who had crossed oceans found familiarity again, in the cadence of a blessing, the warmth of hospitality, the comfort of tradition. It is a community built not by architecture, but by the people who filled it with meaning.

America250: A Wider Story We Helped Write

As the country approaches America250, Sam’s life reminds us that the American story has always been shaped by those who arrived with little more than faith and determination. Jewish immigrants from Morocco, India, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond; added their voices to a nation still defining itself.

Their journeys were not only personal; they were contributions to a larger narrative. They built businesses, raised families, strengthened synagogues, and carried forward traditions that might otherwise have been lost. They helped shape a country where many histories could stand side by side without erasing one another. Sam’s generation did not come seeking to blend in; they came seeking to belong. And in doing so, they expanded what belonging in America could mean. 

The Goodness of Life — And the Hope Ahead

This reflection is not only about Sam, but about what he represents: the courage to leave, the faith to rebuild, the devotion to carry Torah across continents, and the humility to plant seeds whose fruit others will enjoy. His life teaches us that goodness is not loud; it is steady and faithful, built one day at a time, one blessing at a time, one act of generosity at a time. And his generation leaves us with a charge; to continue the work they began. May G-d guide us to build with humility, to love with constancy, to carry our traditions with quiet strength, and to dream with the courage that guided those who came before us!

The Torah tells us: “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn; it grows brighter and brighter” (Proverbs 4:18). May we take the light they handed us and make it shine even brighter. May we honor their journeys by strengthening our own! And may the threads they carried become the threads we continue to weave; with hope, with gratitude, and with faith in the generations yet to come.

In memory of Shmuel Ben Maklouf; a guardian of faith, family, and the paths we now walk