Dayan Saadia Amor

He was everyone’s ideal Sephardi rabbi. Gentle and unassuming in manner, Dayan Saadia Amor inspired great affection in those who came to know him. They loved him for his honesty, simplicity and integrity, for his patience, his humility and his empathy. Every encounter with him was a source of blessing.

Claiming descent from the Rambam, Rabbi Amor came to Britain in 1956, and married. He studied in the Sunderland Kollel and is reputed to have been one of its star students.

His modesty meant his work as Rav Hamachshir for Rakusens in Manchester and for the Leeds Beth Din was not widely known, but in 2006 Rabbi Abraham Levy, Spiritual Head of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation, persuaded him to accept twin appointments as Rosh Beth Din of the London’s Sephardi Beth Din and as Principal Maggid Shiur of the Montefiore Semicha Course. The Montefiore Kollel was then just embarking on its mission to produce a new generation of broadly educated Ashkenazi and Sephardi rabbis for English-speaking communities. It was then that Dayan Amor’s rare abilities achieved the recognition they deserved, and his period in London was among his happiest.

Once in London, Dayan Amor gained the respect of the other dayanim of the capital — both for his learning and for his integrity. Great erudition lay behind the gentleness and kindliness of his Halachic interpretations, while his comprehensive grasp of the intricacies of Jewish law enabled him to present daring solutions to many vexing problems. He was revered by his students. (Source: The Jewish Chronicle)