Moe A. Tawil

Moe Tawil was born in New York City into a very special family- a family steeped in the Sephardic traditional way of life where education, the study of Torah, and Yirat Shamayim were woven into the fabric of their daily lives. His father, Abraham, was one of the founders of the Magen David Congregation Synagogue in Bensonhurst which was inaugurated in 1922, the first established synagogue of the Syrian community in the United States.

Moe Tawil's communal activities began when his father passed away and Moe was 18 years old. He was part of the group that formed the Young Magen David- Bnai Magen David, of which his brother, Isaac A"H, was the first president. Once Moe married, he joined the committee of the Magen David Yeshiva Hebrew School.

Moe's mother, Yael Shrem, was the daughter of a brilliant scholar, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Shrem. Her family lived in Machaneh Yehuda in Jerusalem, where her parents established a synagogue on Navon Street which remains active until today. Over the portals of the synagogue, there remains a sign "Od Yosef Hai". Moe's grandfather, Rabbi Shrem, was very close to the Ben Ish Hai for whom he composed the pizmon "Yahid El Dagool Mervava" which is used today whenever a great Torah scholar is welcomed in the community. Rabbi Shrem delivered the eulogy of Ben Ish Hai in Bagdad on the seventh day of the Shiva.

Moe and his brother, Isaac, served on the board of the Yeshivah of Flatbush and were among the leaders involved in building the main edifice on East 10th street in Brooklyn together with his brothers Harry and David and all of their families.

Moe is an active member of the board of Congregation Shaare Zion. He served as the President of the Bradley Beach Synagogue where he established the first day camp in the Sephardic community- Magen David Day Camp of Bradley Beach. He served on the board of directors of Magen David Yeshiva. Moe was instrumental in establishing the Hallandale Beach Synagogue in Florida and was responsible for a Sephardic shul and minyan in the Concord Hotel for 35 years. He has served on the board of directors for the Deal Synagogue and was involved in the founding of the magnificent Sephardic Community Center on Ocean Parkway in Flatbush. Moe is the founder and director of the Moe Tawil Cantorial Seminary.

Moe was invited twice to Israel to establish a program to maintain the Sephardic liturgical musical tradition for Hazzanim, out of which Tiferet HaMizrach was established, a group of Hazzanim who have been coming to the US to perform on holidays as well as at concerts. Moe has instructed and lectured on Sephardic Liturgical music at New York University, Hofstra, and Yeshiva University, and continues to guide many of the Hazzanim in the Syrian community. For over 75 years, Moe Tawil has been a key leader in every phase of community life from education to prayers to preserving the traditional way of life for his community.