A scion of the Monsonego rabbinical dynasty, Yedidya ben Aharon ben Yehoshua Monsonego was born in Fez in 1907. He studied with Rabbis Shalom Azulay and Joseph Kohen before entering Meʾir Israel’s famous yeshiva. Even as a youth he showed remarkable intellectual ability. After completing his education, he worked as a ritual slaughterer (Heb. shoḥet), kashrut examiner (bodeq), and scribe (sofer) at the Fez bet din. In June 1938, he was named dayyan and chief rabbi of Ouezzane (Wazzan), 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Fez ,which had a sizable Jewish community of …