Born in Herat in 1869, Mullah Joseph Garjī Melamed was the son of Mullah Mattityah Garjī. He was the rabbi of the Jewish community of Herat and later of the Afghan community in Jerusalem. In 1903, he set out for Palestine. When he reached Merv (Marv, Mary) in present-day Turkmenistan, the local Bukharan, Afghan, and Mashhadī Jews pleaded with him to remain, and he agreed to remain as their leader, rabbi, teacher, mohel (circumciser), and ritual slaughterer for seven years. In 1911 he finally arrived in Jerusalem, where he served as spiritual guide to the Bukharan a…