The Maimaran Family originated in Castilia, Spain. Their surname, 'Mai Maran', is from the phrase, ' the sea's islands'. Rabbi Shmaya Maimaran, the head of the family, was one of the great Spanish rabbis who upon the expulsion from Spain (1492), moved to the district town of Tetouan in Northern Morocco. A part of the Maimaran family, followers of Rabbi Chaim Ben Atar (the light of life) followed him to Israel and settled in Tzefat and Jerusalem. Hachacham Rafael Maimaran Hachacham Rafael Maimaran settled in Tzefat and became a ritual slaughterer. He died during the major earthquake which took place in Tzefat in 1837. His son, Shlomo Maimaran, left Tzefat and moved to the Jewish Quarter in the Old City in Jerusalem. He married Mazal and their son, Rafael Maimaran, named for his grandfather, was born in 1870. 'Hachacham' Rafael Maimaran served as the cantor in the Sephardic Synagogue, "Community of Zion" (Kal Media in Ladino) for 40 years until the fall of the Old City in the War of Independence. They tell the story that when he was the cantor on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) the synagogue shook from the intensity of his prayers. Many students studied to be Sephardic Cantors under his guidance. Every Shabbat he would read from the book "Yalkut Me'am Lo'ez" in Spanish from the week's Parasha, and on the Sabbaths between Pesach and Shavuot he taught 'Pirkei Avot' (Sayings of the Father's) and translated it to Spanish for his congregants. He knew Hebrew well and he taught the children in the Jewish Quarter how to speak the language properly. At night he would teach children Torah in the synagogue. In order to attract them to school, he organized a special collection to buy shirts and pants for them for the holidays, so they should continue coming to learn. 'Hachacham' Rafael Maimaran married Esther Ali who was born in Hebron. They lived in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem. They had 3 children: Rivka (1904), Ben Zion (1906) and Avraham (1908). Esther made Hebron cheeses and yogurt and her produce was well known throughout the area. Their children, Ben Zion and Avraham distributed the quality milk products on two mules, also to those who lived outside the walls of the Old City. The family courtyard, at the edge of the Jewish Quarter, close to the Moslem Quarter, was called, "The White Courtyard". Ben Zion Maimaran: (1906-2002) The son of' Hachacham' Rafael and Esther, nee Ali, was born in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem (1906). In his youth he studied in the Porat Yosef Talmud Torah in the Jewish Quarter. He married twice. With his first wife, Heftzibah, he had a son, Rafael (1932-2015). After the death of his first wife he married Berta Baruch (who passed away in 1976) whose family lived in Cairo, Egypt. They had 3 children: Yosef (1938-1984) Malka (1942) and Esther (1943). With the rise in Arab attacks in the 1930s and 1940s, the Maimaran family moved to Chabad Street in the Old City, where they lived until the fall of the Jewish Quarter in 1948. Ben Zion together with his brother Avraham opened a grocery store that became the Jewish Quarter's supply and marketing center during the siege on the Old City. Their house also served members of the Haganah, the Irgun and the "Western Wall Battalions", where discussions and meetings were held with the assistance of Ben Zion. In the days of the siege of Jerusalem during the War of Independence, the Maimaran brothers provided food to the Jewish residents of the Old City, as well as the Misgav Ladach and Bikur Holim hospitals. They did this while ensuring that there was enough food for everyone. During the siege, Ben Zion loaned 500 pounds to Dov Yosef, who was the military governor of Jerusalem during the War of Independence, for the purpose of buying weapons. Ben- Zion also served as the gabai in the synagogue where his father and grandfather prayed during the last three years before the fall of the Jewish Quarter. With the worsening of the situation Avraham Maimaran would leave the old city and go to the "Hebrew" part of Jerusalem and would send food to Ben Zion every 3 days so that he could supply the Jews living in the Old City with food. The food was transported in a convoy that was lead by a British armored car, followed by open trucks and at the end, a British armored car. Avraham would send explosives with the produce and wrote to Ben Zion to go through the packages only at night! Avraham would hide wicks for bombs among the sacks of rice and beans. In order not to be caught (in the 'Kishle", their letters were read) the sent messages in code. With the downfall of the Jewish Quarter, the family had to leave their home as refugees. Ben Zion's family moved to the Ohel Moshe neighborhood and after a few years moved to the 'Abu-Bassal' (Gates of Jerusalem) neighborhood opposite Mahane Yehuda and near the old Sha'arei Tzedek Hospital. At that time Ben Zion, together with his brother and another relative opened a small grocery store in Romema. The store functioned until the beginning of the 1970's. Once the store closed, Ben Zion worked as a supervisor of kashrut in restaurants for the Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem. He continued volunteering with "Mishmar Ha'am" between the years 1948-1956 and for his activities he received the "Volunteers Award". In addition, in recognition of his activities for the city and people of Jerusalem he was awarded the "Yakir Yerusahlayim Medal" in 1986 by Teddy Kollek, the Mayor of Jerusalem at that time. Ben Zion Maimaran passed away on the 20th of Shevat 5762 - 2002. He was 96 at the time of his death. He was buried in the Har Hamenuchot Cemetary in Jerusalem. Rachel Shalom nee Maimaran Rachel Shalom is the sister of Hachacham Raphael Maimaran. She married Yosef Shalom, whose family came to Jerusalem from Monastir Yugoslavia in the late 19th century. The couple had 6 children: the eldest Avraham, Perla, Shlomo, Moiz Moshe, Shmuel and Binyamin. Their daughter Perla married Yichey Sharvit in Erfoud, Morocco and moved to Israel in the 1920's. The family lived in Ohel Moshe in Jerusalem. Their son, Moshe Sharvit was a school principal and a tour guide, in Haifa. He wrote a number of books, including books about this family's history, "The History of the Maimaran Family- Following the Maimaranim,", "My Family History, The Magic Wand". The collection of photos from the album reached Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi's photo archive as part of a joint initiative of the Lev Ha'Ir community center in Jerusalem, in which families who founded and built the neighborhoods in the Nahlaot area were commemorated and documented. The information about the family was provided by Malka Levy, the daughter of Ben Zion Maimaran and Berta Baruch and Moshe Sharvit. Part of the large family of Meimran is one of the families that initially lived in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and moved after the War of Independence to live in Ohel Moshe and Sha'arei Yerushalayim.
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