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Born in Tangiers, Morocco, on August 4, 1920, Samuel S. Oziel is the youngest of the eight children of Salomon Oziel and Esther Cohen.
Very early in his youth, Samuel nurtured a deep love of music and was attracted to the violin that his father kept as a souvenir from his deceased uncle Leon. Slowly but surely, Samuel taught himself how to play this most difficult instrument. When he was 12 years old, he was already playing popular music pieces, like tangos and boleros, and amazing his father’s guests and friends. When he was 17, he took his first music lessons and by 22 he was already writing and composing songs for his brother Moses’ choir, Shir HaShirim. Among his many compositions we should mention the famous “Yishakeni,” “Yom HaShishi,” “Yigdal,” “Mizmor LeDavid,” and several “Ra’u Banim” and “Achkibenus.” Most of these compositions were performed by the Shir HaShirim choir on Friday night during the special Arvit services at the Ecole Alliance of Tangiers. In Canada in the seventies, Yishakeni was part of a best-selling album of classic Hebrew songs by the Kinor Choir of Montreal, under the direction of Solly Levy.
But Samuel’s love of music did not stop at composing great liturgy. He took it upon himself single handedly to create the Shir HaShirim Orchestra, by teaching young friends how to play different instruments and how to read music by writing sheet music for each instrument himself. The Shir HaShirim Choir under Moses Oziel, the Orchestra under Samuel Oziel, and the theatrical group under Amram Luk, were front and center in several presentations given to full houses at the Cervantes and Mauritania theatres in Tangiers.
During all this activity, Samuel Oziel was also busy raising a family. Married to Esther Elfassy, whom he met in the choir, he was already the father of six children in 1954 when he turned 34 years old. Then tragedy struck. In a three-month period, he lost both his parents and his older brother Isaac, a major figure in the Jewish community of Tangiers. This tragedy plus the fact that the community was in turmoil in the middle of the fifties put an end to his musical activities in Morocco.
However, he was very attached to his synagogue, Sinagoga de Perez, and naturally became involved in the singing of prayers after his brother Moses, the Parnass Cantor, left for Canada. It was at that time that Samuel Oziel discovered a new vocation: singer. And what a singer he was! He could easily adapt his commanding tenor voice from occidental to oriental music, or from religious to popular or classical music. Samuel Oziel had come full circle. In music he had done it all: writing, playing several instruments, and singing.
In 1964 he decided to come to Canada to join his family already established in Toronto. There he joined the Petah Tikva Congregation where his brother Moses was already Parnass Cantor. Soon enough he started a band, with his nephews and some friends, of which he was the lead singer, the main violinist, and the music writer. His renditions of famous Spanish songs were a delight to the Tangierians in Toronto who missed their rich past. Among his many successes were: “Como en Espana ni hablar,” “Mas todo pasa todo pasara,” “Historia de un amor,” and many more, as well as “Delila,” “Speak softly,” “Kineret Sheli,” and “Efo.” Throughout all this activity, Samuel Oziel still had to work hard to care for the needs of his large family. This and some defections by the musicians made it impossible for the band to continue. But his involvement in the synagogue kept on growing and he became Assistant Parnass Cantor to his brother Moses. This partnership lasted for more than 20 years and established the Petah Tikva synagogue as the one following the purest Sephardic traditions of our forefathers to this day, and possibly for many generations to come.
After he became Cantor at the synagogue, Samuel Oziel dedicated most of his efforts to his new responsibilities. It is difficult to select his best renditions, but we will never forget his Kedushah on Minchah of Yom Kippur, Kedushah “Ya’alat hen,” “A’ BeKol Shofar,” “Azkir Ayom” and many more. Like his brother Moses before him, Samuel Oziel was the delight of the kahal of Petah Tikva who was very fortunate to have him. But his contribution to Sephardic traditions and liturgy did not stop there. In the late seventies and during the eighties, he started publishing prayer books for High Holidays, Shabbat, and Mo’adim, according to the customs (minhagim) of Northern Morocco. This, he said, was essential for members of the Kahal to be able to follow and participate fully in the services. These books were an unbelievable success, sold all over the world to Northern Moroccan communities, and winning praise from kahal members and community leaders and rabbis alike.
By now you are going to ask, “Did he have time for his family?” The answer is, “Yes, he did!” Samuel Oziel worked very hard all his life to raise his family of five sons and four daughters. His wife Esther was a great role model for their children and grandchildren. Samuel was married to Esther for 61 years, until his passing in August 2003 at the age of 83. Samuel loved nothing more than his family, community, and synagogue. He was a reliable presence at Petah Tikvah synagogue, hardly ever missing a prayer service. He was well-respected and loved by all the North Moroccan communities throughout the world. Samuel S. Oziel was a role model for all of us.
