Growing up, Yosef's parents had no money but Hacham Mordechai was ​content with what he had and paid no attention to his poverty. Except for ​one thing that pained him deeply. His son wasn't able to sit and learn like he ​really wanted to. He assisted his father in teaching little children in order to ​avoid starvation. one night, little Yosef went to the bet knesset and cried ​out bitterly to Hashem over his situation. Hacham Shaul Kassin was in the ​shul and overheard his pleas and decided that he would make sure that he ​could learn with peace of mind. Hacham Shaul gathered with the rest of the ​leaders and they ensured the young man would be able to learn

at the level he wished. This did not last long as the family immigrated to ​Eretz Yisrael only to endure poverty once again. With great mesirut nefesh , ​Yosef's mother would go out to the river with buckets , fill them up with ​water and sell them in town all so that her husband and son could learn ​Torah. Yosef would stay up late into the night delving into the hidden parts ​of the Torah. In the winter , it would be freezing yet he would remain there ​with no heat all to learn Torah. When he got married, he would stay in the ​bet knesset all week long and would only return home erev shabbat. He ​went on to become a great posek and was the prince of Torah.