Hacham Cadir Shlomo Atun
Date of Birth: 5659 (1899)Date of Death: 18th of Adar, 5735 (1975)
Hacham Cadir Shlomo Atun was born in Djerba in 1899.
He began learning Torah with his primary teacher, Hacham Mekiketz Shaul Hasheli, and served as his aide in the Talmud Torah.
Hacham Cadir Shlomo Atun taught at Hacham Hizkiah Peretz's synagogue in Djerba's Harah Kbira (Large Quarter) and, when he was done, would set out to teach at the Parinitti synagogue, which was quite distant. He maintained this synagogue, and would go there on the harshest winter or summer days to teach Torah to Jewish children. Hacham Cadir Shlomo Atun was a manuscript scribe, and led prayers as a cantor as well.
Toward the end of his life, Hacham Cadir Shlomo Atun was able to immigrate to Israel with his family and settled in Beer Sheva, along with additional pioneers who built the Torah VeHaim synagogue named after Hacham Haim Houri.
Hacham Cadir Shlomo Atun was the driving spirit behind the synagogue, serving as its cantor, Torah reader and preacher. He would rise early every day to ensure that there was a minyan for the first group of worshippers, and remain to recite the morning prayers with the second minyan.
Hacham Cadir Shlomo passed away on a Sabbath Eve, 18 Adar 5735 (1975), and was buried in Beer Sheva. After his death, his original commentary on Torah and Talmud was published by the members of his synagogue in a book entitled, Binyamin HaTza'ir.
