“The classroom?”
“Yes, the classroom in his Talmud Torah in Jerusalem.”
“In Jerusalem?” Now I was even more confused.
Rabi Yekutiel Abuchatzeira — scion of the famed family and a rebbe in his own right — is a renowned tzaddik who leads mosdos and a popular court in Ashdod. Followers of many different stripes and types make their way to the oceanfront city to seek his counsel on matters ranging from spiritual directives to business decisions to medical dilemmas.
But our conversation takes place in a more unconventional setting, especially considering the stature of our host: Instead of his Ashdod beit medrash, which attracts a colorful crowd of Sephardim as well as many Gerrer, Vizhnitz, Satmar, and other chassidim from both the city and further afield, we’re sitting on plastic chairs in a Talmud Torah classroom in Jerusalem. Rabi Yekutiel is just as comfortable here, though — in Ashdod, too, he sits on a simple bench among his diverse crowd of mispallelim.
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