FROM SEPHARAD TO EGYPT
Rabbi Ya’aqob Castro was a Tora scholar, a rabbinical judge, an author and a leading lawmaker (poseq) in the Cairo Jewish community.
The Castro or “de Castro” family was originally from southern Spain. At the time of the expulsion they escaped to Portugal and from there, many members of that family arrived in Turkey, North Africa, Egypt, etc.
The father of Rabbi Castro (some historians say he was his uncle) was the famous Abraham de Castro (died in 1520, see here). Abraham de Castro was one of the most prominent Jews of his time. He was the manager of the Royal Mint of the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566), the most powerful man in the world in those years. In his honor, the Sultan agreed to reinforce the walls of Jerusalem adding several rows of solid rock to the original wall. This stones are still there to this day.
HIS TEACHERS
Rabbi Ya’aqob de Castro belonged to a wealthy family. Apart from being a rabbi, Rabbi Castro also engaged in trade, something that was common among rabbis living in Egypt, such as Rabbi David ben Zimra or Rabbi Isaac Luria(the Ari haQadosh) who dealt with import and export of pepper and grains.
Rabbi Ya’aqob was a student of two great luminaries: the illustrious Rabbi David ben Zimra (Radbaz), and Rabbi Levi ibn Habib (Ralbah) of Yerushalayim. Rabbi Ya’aqob is also known by his acronym Mahariqash (מהריק”ש), and he is considered the last “Chief Rabbi” of Egypt, that is, the rabbinical authority accepted by all the communities of the country, including the two most important: Cairo and Alexandria. At that time most of the Jews of Egypt were musta’arabim, that is, indigenous of Egypt; while the community of the Sepharadim, that is, the refugees of the expulsion from Spain, was just beginning.
RABBI CASTRO AND RABBI CARO
In 1570, he visited the city of Sefat in Israel, where he was invited to the home of Rabbi Yosef Caro (1488-1575), the author of the Shulhan Arukh. In his writings, Rabbi Castro describes his encounter with Rabbi Caro and relates, probably with deep emotions, seeing with his own eyes Rabbi Caro acting in accordance with the customs that he himself had established in the Shulhan Arukh.
Rabbi Castro wrote several books. We will mention two of them.
“Erekh Lehem.” Glosses and comments that Rabbi Castro wrote in the margins of his manuscript copy of the Shulhan Arukh. In these notes he expresses his opinion, and sometimes his objections, to some halakhic determinations of Rabbi Yosef Caro. The reputation of Rabbi Castro was so high that in Egypt his opinion had more weight than that of Shulhan Arukh himself.
LIFE IN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF EGYPT
Another of his works is “Ahole Ya’aqob”, a book of rabbinical responsa on real cases that happened in his community. This book also presents the Halakhic debates between Rabbi Castro and some of his contemporaries, which allows us to have a better vision of his legal thinking.
It should also be noted that this book of Rabbinical questions and answers is a priceless source of information for historians to learn a little more in detail about the social and community life, and the difficulties of the Jewish community in Egypt in the 16th century.
SOME EXAMPLES
One of the Taqanot, or community decrees, that Rabbi Castro mentions in one of his answers, is related to the mores and etiquette that should be observed in the celebration of wedding parties. Apparently, in some weddings, gentile dancers were hired as part of the celebration; this caused more than once some improper attitudes. Rabbi Castro, together with the other rabbis of the city, forbade this practice and encouraged the community to hire only musicians, and not dancers.
Another controversial issue that appears in his questions and answers is the legal status of the claim of a wife who refused to live in the house of her in-laws, in a situation where there was no mistreatment from their part. Rabbi Castro debated with another very famous Egyptian rabbi, Rabbi Hayim Kafusi, about considering this claim as a justified cause for divorce.
Finally, I will mention a more sensitive topic. Rabbi Castro dealt with the case of two young married men, members of his community, who went out of town in a business trip and disappeared. Two Egyptian men, father and son, testified that these merchants were attacked and killed by a gang of 12 assailants. The Halakhic question was whether this testimony was enough to declare the wives of these merchants as widows, and allow them get married again. Rabbi Castro adopted a more strict opinion, since the evidence was ambiguous, and he considered that the witnesses could obtain a personal benefit from his testimony. Rabbi Kafusi confronted Rabbi Castro and presented an more permissive opinion so that these two women would not be trapped (agunot) in a situation without a possible solution.
