Rabbi Abraham Saba (1440-1508) and the Island of Alligators

Rabbi Abraham Saba was born in Castile, Spain, in 1440. When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, there was no safe place to go. No route was safe from pirates, hunger and the ever present threat of plagues and epidemics. 120,000 Jews fled to Portugal. At that time, Portugal appeared as the most reliable place. No sea to cross, a very similar language and an Iberian culture. Rabbi Abraham Saba was one of those Jews who left Portugal pursuing a new beginning. But the poor Jewish refugees from Spain soon discovered that the horrors and tragedies they were living, were not over.
The Portuguese king John II, eager to increase his treasure, approved the admission of Jews requiring them to pay a large sum of money, 100 Cruzados. Those who could not pay that amount,  could reside in Portugal for a maximum of eight months, for a smaller sum, 8 Cruzados a head. Most Jews, including Rabbi Saba, moved to the city of Oporto, Portugal’s main port, hoping to navigate soon to a new destination in Italy, Turkey, Greece or North Africa. But the shortage of ships made their exit impossible. And after the eight months ended, King John proclaimed that those who could not renew their residence paying for 8 additional months, should convert to Christianity or would be automatically considered his slaves. No one had money to pay. The refuges had left Spain with empty hands. The families who refused conversion witnessed one of the worst tragedies ever suffered by Sephardic Jews. King John ordered separating the children from their parents, something not even the cruel Spanish Inquisition dared to do. Thousands of young children were swept into the convents to be raised as Catholics. 700 adolescents boys and girls were sent on a ship to Sao Tome and Principe, a remote island off the coast of Guinea, recently colonized by the Portuguese explorers, famous for the abundance of carnivorous alligators. According to reports from that time, most of these children died, some eaten by the large reptiles, and others by hunger or neglect.

 

Rabbi Saba describes this terrible event in his book Tseror Hamor, parahsat ki Tabo.
זאת היא קללה אחרת שקרה לנו בעוונותנו בפורטוגאל, שלקח המלך את הבנים ואת הבנות הקטנים ושלחם בספינות לאיי הנחשים כדי לעשות שם יישוב

 

“This is the great tragedy that befell us in Portugal, the King took the children and sent them in boats to the islands of alligators, to populate that place”

 

Two of Rabbi Saba’s children were taken from him in these circumstances, and rabbi Saba never saw them again. Searching for his children, he tells, he dressed as a Gentile and visited numerous convents. In each convent he recited aloud the Shema Israel. Hearing the voice of Rabbi Abraham, attracted by the sweet and familiar melody of the Shema, the Jewish children would came to him and cried inconsolably.

 

In 1495 King John II died and King Manuel ascended to the throne. The situation of the Jews did not improve. He married the Spanish Princess Isabel, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabel יש”ו, hoping to bring the entire peninsula under a single monarchy The Spanish kings agreed to this marriage with one vicious condition: Manuel had to expel the Jews from Portugal. In December 4, 1496, Manuel stipulated that by November next year no Jew could reside in Portugal. Those who do not want to convert should abandon their possessions and leave the country. When Manuel saw that the Jews were willing to risk their lives and go, leaving everything behind instead of converting, he realized that the departure of the Jews would negatively affect the economy of Portugal, as it was happening in Spain. He decided then to make a mass conversion “by decree”. In other words, instead of expelling the Jews from Portugal, he decided to expel the Judaism from the Jews. And declare all of them new Christians de facto.

 

There was a group of 20,000 Jews in Lisbon, including Rabbi Saba, desperately waiting for some boat that could take them out of Portugal. But the King ordered to forcibly baptize them and he said: “You can leave, if you wish, but your children are already baptized, and they must remain here”  The poor Jews had to choose between their children and their faith …. These Yehudim were the bravest, those who fled Spain, leaving everything behind,  to keep their faith intact…

 

Rabbi Saba was taken to prison. And there he saw the chief Rabbi of Portugal, Ribbi Shimon Maimi (or Meimi) זצ”ל. He, his wife, his daughters and his sons in law were tortured by the Inquisition, hoping to force them to convert, and thus serve as an example for the other Jews. But the elder Rabbi Maimi and all his family chose to suffer the terrible tortures, and died al qiddush haShem, rejecting conversion.

 

After spending six months in a prison Saba Rabbi was sent with a group of Jews to the city of Arcila or Assilah, in Morocco, a fortified prison. After a few months, Rabbi Saba miraculously escaped and came to Fez, a city with a large Jewish community. It took a few years for rabbi Saba to recover from his physical and emotional deterioration. After a long convalescence, he became one of the Rabbis of the city, and began to rewrite his books.

 

Six of his books remained in Portugal. One of the most famous books of Rabbi Saba, where the story I presented today is written, is “Tseror Hamor,” a commentary on the Tora. He also wrote Eshkol ha-Kofer, a commentary on Megillat Ruth and Megillat Esther. These two are the only books of Rabbi Saba we have today. Some of the manuscripts which were left in Portugal were Tseror haKesef, a rabbinical responsa on issues related to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Tseror haHayim, a commentary on the treatise Pirqe Abot. A commentary on the Psalms, a commentary on the Gemara Berakhot and a qabbalistic book in which he explained the ten Sefirot.

 

From Fes Rabbi Saba traveled to Adrianopoli (now the city of Edirne in Turkey). He died on the 9 Tishri 5269 (1508) on a boat. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Verona, Italy.

 

The granddaughter of Rabbi Abraham Saba married Rabbi Yosef Caro, author of the Shulhan Arukh


SEPHARDIC RABBIS: Rabbi Hayim Carigal (1732-1777) and Yale University

The first Jews who came to America in colonial times, were Sephardic Jews who had escaped from Recife, Brazil, where they were persecuted by the Portuguese Inquisition. In September 1654 a group of about 25 Jews arrived as refugees at the port of New York, which was then called New Amsterdam. Over time other communities were formed in the American colonies. The most important of these communities was established in the city of Newport, Rhode Island.
Newport Jewish community flourished especially in the eighteenth century, with the leadership of Aaron Lopez. Aaron Lopez arrived in Newport in 1752. He was originally from Lisbon, Portugal. There, he was known as Don Duarte Lopez. For 150 years his ancestors had lived in Portugal as “Marranos”, i.e., pretending that they were Catholics, to escape the Inquisition, which forbade the practice of Judaism. Aaron Lopez became an important and very successful businessman. At one point he had his own fleet of 80 merchant ships.
Rabbi Hayim Rafael Carigal (or Karigal) was born in 1732 in the former Sephardic Kehilá of Hebron. He studied at the Yeshiba of Hebron, founded and maintained by Abraham Israel Pereira, from Amsterdam. Rabbi Carigal was a prodigious student and was ordained a rabbi at the age of 17. Although it was the spiritual center of the Jews throughout the world, the Jewish community of Israel, was very poor. And it needed the ongoing support from the Jews of the diaspora. Rabbi Carigal was appointed by his colleagues to be a “Shaliach deRabanan” a representative of the Rabbis, to raise funds to help the Yehudim of Israel. In those days, the rabbis assigned to these missions were chosen based on their erudition. The wisest men were elected for the mission because it was expected of them not only to raise funds for Israel, but also to teaching Tora to the Jews of the diaspora.
Rabbi Carigal reached Newport, Rhode Island, in 1773. He was welcomed and hosted by Mr. Aaron Lopez, who said that Rabbi Carigal was the most prominent Jewish scholar who has ever reached the Americas.
Ezra Stiles was a Protestant Minister, friend of Aaron Lopez. Stiles fervently loved and admired all matters related to Judaism, and especially the Hebrew language. He said that without a solid knowledge of Hebrew language, it was impossible to understand the Bible.
When Stiles learned of the arrival of Rabbi Carigal to Newport, he came to the famous “Touro” Synagogue to hear the sermon of Rabbi Carigal. According to Stiles memoirs, it was on the day of Shabuot, May 28, 1773. Rabbi Carigal, as was the custom in the Sephardic communities, delivered his sermon in Spanish, with a few words in Hebrew. Stiles was fascinated with the personality and erudition of Rabbi Carigal and asked to meet with him. Ezra Stiles and rabbi Carigal met 28 times. Stiles became one of the greatest admirers of Rabbi Carigal. He asked the rabbi many questions about the Jewish religion and the Hebrew language, and carefully recorded all the answers he received. Before leaving Newport, Stiles commissioned a portrait or Rabbi Carigal.
In 1778 Ezra Stiles was appointed as the 7th president of Yale University. Stiles established that all freshman students take a Hebrew language course. And while this course is no longer mandatory, much remains in Yale of what Rabbi Carigal taught Ezra Stiles. Among other things, the seal of Yale University, who reads the Hebrew words URIM VETUMIM.

 



Rabbi Yehuda Hayyat (d. 1510), and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain

The city of Mantova, Italy
יום מאורי חשך בגרוש קאסטיליא….

Rabbi Yehuda ben Ya’aqob Hayyat z”l suffered all the tribulations that fell upon the Jews as a consequence of their expulsion from Spain. His dramatic life story exemplifies the adversities of hundreds of thousands of Jews who were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula for refusing to abandon their religion.

.In his book “Minhat Yehuda” Rabbi Hayyat describes the calamities he lived for about two years

When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, about 120,000 of them fled to Portugal. The Portuguese King Juan II, accepted the Jews, but demanded them to pay an exorbitant sum of money to stay there. A year after arriving into Portugal, in 1493, the king decided that Jews could not stay any longer in his kingdom unless they converted to Catholicism or pay again a huge amount of money. The Jews were poor refugees, and when they were expelled from Spain all their properties were expropriated. In addition,  it was forbidden for them to take silver, gold, or anything of value. In Portugal, they were living in extreme poverty and were not able to afford the payment that the King demanded

Along with 250 other Jewish refugees, Rabbi Hayyat left Portugal and sailed from the port of Lisbon in a precarious ship toward the coast of Morocco. Conditions on board were so unhealthy that after a few days at sea an epidemic broke out on the ship. In those conditions  they would not disembark into any other port. The ship was taken to the port of Malaga. There, several priests were awaiting for those Jews. When the desperate Jewish passengers asked the Catholic clerics to give them water and bread, the priests refused, unless they accepted baptism …. The poor Jews stayed for five days in the ship. Close to hundred of those Jews chose to convert in order to save their lives. And about fifty of those Jews, among them, Rabbi Hayyat’s wife, died of thirst and starvation

After two months, the precarious vessel reached the coast of Morocco. But upon stepping on solid ground, a moorish that recognized Rabbi Hayyat from Spain, accused him of being an infidel and the Rabbi was immediately imprisoned and sentenced to death by Muslim fanatics, who claimed that his religious beliefs and practices offend Islam. To save his life, they said, he had to convert to Islam. If he would do, they would honor him and grant hi all he wishes. For forty days Rabbi Hayyat was imprisoned in a dark underground hole living in inhuman conditions, surrounded by rodents, snakes, and scorpions

In the end, some Jewish refugees from the Moroccan village of Shorshan, who were extremely poor, managed to raise some money to bribe the jailers and save Rabbi Hayyat from a certain death. Rabbi Hayyat gave them in exchange and as a token of gratitude 200 books that he had brought with him from Spain. He escaped to the city of Fes, a little further south. Fes was the refuge of tens of thousands of exiled Jews from Spain. But there too Rabbi Hayyat found only more tribulations

He writes in his book

“Fes suffered from a terrible famine… people were forced to eat grass to survive. Every day I work grinding some grains with my bare hands in the house of a Muslim family to earn a small and this morsel of bread. … like other Jews who escaped from Spain, we have no home or shelter. And at night, in the winter, we would dig to ourselves into the dumps hole, in the outskirts of the city, to sleep. “

After being in Fes for 8 months, the rabbi narrates, “… a terrible fire broke out in the city and many people died in the flames … After the fire, and as a result of the great drought, over 20,000 (sic.) Jews perished of starvation and epidemics. And when they saw this, many Jews who came from Spain and Portugal, decided to return there, to avoid a certain death for them and their children. “

A contemporary Spanish historian Andrés Bernáldez (1450-1513) writes in his book “History of the Catholic kings” (p. 78) that the Jews who left Fes were victims of all forms of abuse… on the roads they were attacked by Moors, who kidnapped and raped their wives and daughters, and opened their bodies to see whether they had hidden silver or gold in their stomachs

Rabbi Hayyat managed to leave Morocco and embarked for Italy. First, he arrived into Naples, but at that time (1494) Naples was at war and the French King expelled the Jews from the  city. Then, Rabbi Hayyat arrived at the port of Venice alone, as he had lost his entire family, and half-naked. When the Spanish Jews living in Venice recognized him, they took care of him. From Venezia, Rabbi Hayyat reached the Italian city of Mantova, where he lived until his last days

HIS WORKS

In Mantova Rabbi Hayyat found and befriended a Sephardic Rabbi named Yosef Ya’abets, who convinced him to write a commentary to the famous mystic (and cryptic) book “ma’arakhot Eloqim”. Rabbi Hayyat, far for complaining to God for his terrible fate, called his book “Minhat Yehuda” (The offering of Judah). That is: this book was an offering that Rabbi Yehuda Hayyat, offered to HaShem for saving his life

This book is considered a seminal work because it explains the most complex principles of Kabbala, and contributed to the spread of Hokhmat haQabbala, a phenomena which reached its peak in the 16th century. Rabbi Hayyat mentions in his book some of his teachers in Spain. Among them, Rabbi Shemuel Ibn Shraga and Rabbi Yosef Alcastilia (also, “Alcastiel”), meaning, from Castille

There is another book, which was never published yet, which consist of 18 questions and answers between rabbi Yehuda Hayyat and Rabbi Yosef Alcastiel. From these 18 questions and answers, 17 are on mysticism and only one on a Talmudic subject. 

Although precise details are unknown, it is estimated that Rabbi Yehuda Hayyat died in Mantova, Italy, circa 1510



Rabbi Levi Ibn Habib and the rabbinical ordination debate

Rabbi Levi ben Habib was born in Zamora, Spain, approximately in 1480. At the age of five he managed to escape to Portugal, with his father, the famous rabbi Ya’aqob ibn Habib, and his immediate family. In Portugal, when he was about seventeen years old, he was compelled to submit to a forced conversion. At the first opportunity he and his father fled to Salonica, where he could live as a Jew in safety.

In Salonica, he studied Tora from his father and from many other teachers.  In those days, Salonica was one of the most important centers of Tora, if not the most important, in the new Sephardic world. In Salonica Rabbi Levi met rabbi Yosef Caro and many other giants of Tora.  In a short time Rabbi Levi became very famous and respected, and numberless of Halakhic questions were addressed to him from many communities around the world.  Rabbi Levi was known as an exiguous Talmudist who showed preference for the use of meticulous textual reading, as opposed to casuistry (pilpul).  He admitted that he was not well versed in Qabbala, but he was proud of his knowledge of science.  Rabbi Levi was an expert in astronomy and a great mathematician. This knowledge allowed rabbi Levi to have a deep understanding of the intricacies of the Jewish calendar, as it is clear from the superb commentary he wrote on Maimonides’ Hilkhot Qiddush haHodesh. Like many other Sephardic rabbis at the time, he was also a physician.

After the passing of this father, Rabbi Levi decided to leave Salonica and settle in Erets Israel.  He was then more than 50 years old. From Salonica he arrived to Aram Tsoba (Aleppo) in Syria. He writes with admiration about the rabbis of the city: “I found there [in Aleppo] very wise men, with whom I had the opportunity to study Tora. Every day they learn Halakhot and I studied with them with fraternity and love”.  From Aleppo, rabbi Levi traveled to Israel. First he settled in Tsefat (Safed) and finally, he settled in Jerusalem, where his fame and knowledge won him the position of chief rabbi of the city.

Many Megorashim, refugees from Spain and Portugal, were still coming to Jerusalem in the 1530’s.  Many among these Megorashim were forcefully baptized and forced to practice Christianity for a while.    They believed that the ultimate atonement (kapara or tiqqun) for their forced conversion was to settle in the land of Israel, mainly in Jerusalem.

As we have mentioned before, the rabbis of Safed wanted to renew the semikha, the original rabbinical ordination to apply the punishments (malqut) that would atone for these sins, and allow the tormented souls of the former conversos to start over their Jewish life. Rabbi Levi ben Habib was a strong opponent , the strongest, to the renewal of the Semikha project initiated by rabbi Ya’aqob Berab. Rabbi ben Habib refused to accept the authority of Rabbi Berab and accused the latter of disgracing the honor of Jerusalem.

Rabbi ben Habib together with rabbi David ben Zimra, Chief rabbi of Egypt at the time, who also opposed the new Semikha, wrote a small booklet qunteres hasemikha, in which they explained the reasons for their opposition to the new semikha.   

The main objections were

1. We do not have in our days Rabbis that are ordained with the original Semikha of Moshe Rabbenu, but they are still called “rabbis” and act as rabbis of every practical purpose. The renewal of the Semikha will create an elite of rabbis, with the privilege to sentence laws which would be mandatory for all the Jewish people, and that will diminish the honor and capabilities of most rabbis in the world who are holding a rabbinical position in their communities. 

2. At the end of the famous paragraph in which Maimonides explains the ways to renew the Semikha there are three problematic words, which Maimonides does not use very frequently : והדבר צריך הכרע , which means that “this matter still needs to be settled”. From these words rabbi Levi ben Habib inferred that the matter of the renewal of the semikha necessitates more than a majority of rabbis in favor of the project. It is worth to remember that at the time, Safed had more rabbis than Yerushalayim, “most” rabbis of Israel lived in Safed.  But Rabbi ibn Habib was saying that according to Maimonides words a majority of rabbis was not enough. The renewal of the Semikha, Rabbi Levi said, requires a “consensus” of all rabbis, particularly of the rabbis of Erets Israel, the only place where the Semikha could be renewed. And that consensus did not exist.

3. The new proposed semikha will create new challenges for which there is no easy solution. For example: are we going to come back to the system of declaring the beginning of the months (qiddush hahodesh) via testimonies (‘edut) and establishing the leap years, as they did in the times of the Mishna? In light of the precision of our present calendar, it seems that the renewal of the Semikha will bring more challenges than solutions.

4. One of the reason explicitly mentioned by rabbi Berab and his students in support of renewing the Semikha related to an urgent problem which needed to be solved: there were thousands of marranos or anusim, Jewish or conversos refugees, who were forced or pressured to convert and to accept baptism in Spain and Portugal. Now, this type of apostasy is a very sever sin, and the punishment reserved for those Jews who willingly converted is  “karet” a “divine cut-off of the sinner from the people of Israel”. However, a Jewish High Court or Sanhedrin had the authority to apply a more lenient punishment (malqut) which will dispense the more sever punishment for the converso Jews. However, for rabbi Ibn Habib this was unnecessary because there was no hatra-a (legal warning) and not valid witnessing at the times these Jews were forced to convert to Christianity. Thus, the severe punishment was not technically applicable.

5. The original Semikha was discontinued in the times of Rab Ashe, 1108 years ago (counting from the time of rabbi Ibn Habib). Rabbi Levi asks: how come no other rabbi ever thought about the possibility of renewing the Semikha? For Rabbi Levi the Semikha should be renewed only in the times of the Messiah. And perhaps the Messiah himself or Eliyahu the Prophet will be the ones that will grant a new ordination to the disciples they will see fit. 

In any case, the opposition of rabbi ben Habib, together with other factors,  prevented the renewal of the Semikha from becoming a long term project. It ended after four generations.

In his youth Rabbi Habib edited his father’s book En Yaaqob (Constantinople, 1516). He also wrote: She’elot u-Teshubot, a collection of 147 responsa; Pirush Qiddush HaHodesh, a brilliant commentary on the rules governing the method of the Hebrew calendar in Maimonides code of law.   All these works were published together in Venice (1565).



Rabbi Shelomo Alqabets (1500-1580), author of Lekha Dodi

Rabbi Shelomo haLevi Alqabets was born in Salonica, Greece, in the year 1500. His father was Moshe halevi Alqabets, a refugee from the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Rabbi Shelomo studied Tora, and particularly Qabbala, under Rabbi Yosef Taitatsaq. In 1529 he married the daughter of the philanthropist Isaac Cohen. Soon after their wedding, he and his wife determined to settle in Erets Israel. In a speech that he delivered before he left the city he said that once we have the possibility of living n Israel, even if the conditions there are far from ideal, it is the duty of every Jew to return to Israel to help building the Bet haMiqdash, to study Tora and serve HaShem with passion.
In his way to Israel he stayed for two years in the city of Adrianapolis (today Edirne, in Turkey), The townsmen begged him to instruct them in his ways of serving HaShem. He refused to stay saying that only in the Holy Land one could fathom the secrets of Tora.  He agreed, however, to write for them several works while in town. One of these books was Berit HaLevi, an explanation of the Hagada of Pesah, dedicated to his disciples inAdrianapolis.
Rabbi Shlomo arrived to Safed around 1535. Rabbi Alqabets’ passion for Israel inspired many of his community members from Salonica and Adrianopolis to come with him to Israel. Among the people who came with him was his brother in law, the famous rabbi Moshe Cordobero (1522-1570). Rabbi Moshe Cordobero, was probably the most important qabbalist of his time, until the Ari haQadosh. He had a great respect and admiration for rabbi Alqabets, and even though he was married to his sister,  he always addressed him as his teacher. Rabbi Alqabets was indeed his first teacher. But over the time, Rabbi Cordobero grew immensely in his learning and fame as a qabbalist and talmudist. Rabbi Alqabets read his writings and learned from him and  addressed Rabbi Cordobero as his teacher,  a testimony to rabbi Alqabets great humility. Rabbi Alqabets and Rabbi Cordobero created a circle of pious men dedicated to study Tora and in Tsefat.
In his way to Erets Israel rabbi Alqabets met also with Rabbi Yosef Caro, who was  also on his way to Erets Israel. They became good friends and shared many years together.  It is said that it was Rabbi Alqabets who inspired Maran Rabbi Yosef Caro to establish the Tiqun Lel Shabu’ot, a long Tora study session which takes place during the entire night of Shabu’ot.
With Rabbis Alqabets and rabbi Cordobero in town, the city of Safed became the center of Qabbala. And with the presence of Rabbi Yosef Caro and his teacher, rabbi Yaaqob Berab, Safed was also the city of Halakha.
Rabbi Alqabets was a very charismatic speaker, a great teacher, and a fantastic community leader and mentor to his students. He made taqanot, internal rules, for his students. He established for example, that the students should behave with humbleness one to another.  And when a student sees one of his peers doing something wrong he should approach his friend discreetly and explain him his mistake. The one who was rebuked, should not refute or say anything in his own defense before three days have passed, so he has time to reflect dispassionately on his own actions.
BOOKS
Rabbi Alqabets wrote many books, mostly commentaries on books of the Bible and many books on Qabbala. Some of them are: Manot HaLevi, on the Book of Esther. Ayelet Ahabim, on Song of Songs. Shoresh Yishai, on the Book of Ruth. Or Tzadikim, a book of sermons
Despite the many books he wrote and the great influence he exerted on many prominent rabbis, Rabbi Alqabets is famous for his liturgical poem Lekha Dodi, an hymn sung at the inauguration of the Shabbat. Lekha Dodi was composed according to qabbalistic teachings, expressing the yearning for the final redemption. He based the theme, “Come my beloved to meet the bride” on the Talmudic description in Shabbat 119a “Rabbi Hanina robed himself and stood at sunset of Sabbath eve [and] exclaimed, ‘Come and let us go forth to welcome the queen Shabbat.’
Rabbi Shelomo Alqabets passed on in 1580 .
To download one of Rabbi Alqabets books, MANOT HALEVI, click here


Rabbi Shemuel de Medina, head of the Yeshiba of Salonica (1505-1589)

Rabbi Shemuel ben Moshe de Medina (abbreviated רשד”ם) was a great Talmudist and the Rosh Yeshiba of the Talmudic academy of that city. His teachers were the famous rabbi Yosef Taitatsaq, who was also one of the teachers of rabbi Yosef Caro, and Rabbi Levi Ibn Habib. These two rabbis were very different in their orientation and intellectual horizons. Both were great luminaries, but while Rabbi ibn Habib was inclined to reason and Talmudic logic, rabbi Taitatsaq was more inclined to mysticism and qabbala. Rabbi Medina absorb from these two rabbis, but ironically, he did not dedicate himself nor to philosophy not to mysticism, virtually all of his teachings and writings focus on Jewish Law (Halakha).

He lived thorough many personal misfortunes. Rabbi Medina lost his father at a very young age. Then,  his two sons in law, rabbi Yosef Tsarfati and rabbi Ytshaq Hayoun, died at a young age living behind their wives, the only two daughters of rabbi Medina and numerous children. A few years later, his brother, a man of means who educated him and supported him financially, also passed away.  And the burden of the maintenance of his widowed and her children also fell upon him. Still, he did not abandon the study of Tora and continued writing and teaching. In all this time, he never wanted to be paid from the public community funds, even though he was in a great need of money. On the contrary, as a testimony of his great humbleness, he paid his communal taxes, from which he was technically exempted as a Tora scholar, to avoid presumption ( כדי לא להחזיק עצמו כתלמיד חכם) and  benefitting from his Tora.

Rabbi Medina founded a Yeshiva in Salonica in which he introduced the system of teaching of the great Spanish talmudic scholars from the time of Isaac Campanton. This Yeshiba was supported by the famous Jewish philanthropist Doña Gracia Mendes Nasí. He had many disciples, among them rabbi Abraham di Boton, author of lehem Mishne.

Rabbi Medina was the accepted Halakhic authority both in his own and in the following generations in Salonica and beyond. Numberless questions were addressed to him from all parts of the Ottoman Empire and Italy. Rabbi Ḥayim Shabbetai said of him: “He was an expert judge of encyclopedic knowledge, and one must not deviate an iota from his decisions”. The Halakhic decisions of rabbi Medina were studied an incorporated also among Eastern European Tora scholars in later generations, and his rulings are often quoted in modern times by judges in the State of Israel in support of their decisions.

Rabbi Medina was one of the leaders of the congregations coming from the “Gerush” (the expulsion from Spain and Portugal). Rabbi Medina himself was of Portuguese origin and he acted as the rabbi of the Portuguese Synagogue in Salonica. Still, when a controversy aroused on the subject of liturgy (Jewish prayers), and the congregations wanted to print their own Siddurim, rabbi Medina decided to print the version of the Spanish Jews (sefaradim), and not the Portuguese, based on the merits of that version, which was in his own words, “flawless and accessible to all”.

In one of the controversies which took place in Salonica and elsewhere, Rabbi Medina maintained the right of the wealthy members and contributors of the community to regulate the direction of communal affairs. According to him, as had been the custom in Spain, the leadership of the community should be in the hands of those who bear its financial burden, providing they were loyal to the religious principles.

He died at Salonica in 1589. His son was rabbi Moshe De Medina, who was a very important rabbi and a successful merchant and philanthropist, helped to found a new Hebrew printer where many important Tora manuscripts were published for the first time thanks to his generous efforts. Among them, of course, the book of his father Pisqe Rabbi Shemuel De Medina ( שו”ת מהרשד”ם).  This book contains a total of 956 questions and answers on all areas of Jewish law, with an introduction by his own son, Rabbi Moshe.

You can download the book of Rabbi Shemuel De Medina,  published in Luvov 1860, clicking here.



Rabbi Israel Najara (1555-1625) and the Jobar Synagogue

The Jobar Synagogue, Eliyahu haNabi, considered the oldest in the world, was destroyed in May 2014 during the Syrian civil war.

 

Rabbi Israel Najara ישראל בן משה נאג’ארה was born in Safed, Israel in 1555. At a very early age, his family moved to Damascus, Syria. The family Najara comes from “Nájera”, a small town located in the “Rioja Alta” , Spain, on the river Najerilla.

His father, Moshe Najara, served for many years as the chief rabbi of the Damascus Jewish community. On his mother’s side, Rabbi Najara was the grandson (and namesake) of the famous Rabbi Israel de Curiel (1501–1573), one of the three Musmakhim (those granted rabbinic ordination) who had been ordained in Safed by Rabbi Ya’aqob Berab, alongside Maran Ribbí Yosef Caro.

In Damascus, Rabbi Moshe Najara led the Mishmarot. Among many Syrian Jews, the custom of Mishmarot continues to this day. These are long Tora study sessions held on the eve of Rosh Chodesh and every Shabbat afternoon.

Due to his father’s position, Rabbi Israel Najara did not serve as an active rabbi in Damascus. Instead, he served as Chazan (liturgical cantor) and rabbi (traditionally, in Sephardic communities, these two roles were often held by the same person) of the Jewish community of Jobar (pronounced Dyobar or Djobar), a suburb of Damascus.

The city of Jobar was predominantly Jewish. The historian Shams Ibn Tulun al-Dimashqi, who died in 1546, wrote:
“Jobar is a Jewish village with some Muslim presence.”

Jobar was famous for its synagogue: Eliyahu haNabi. We have a fascinating description of the city and its synagogue from a rabbi and traveler, Rabbi Moshe Basula:

“The city of Jobar is one mile from Damascus. The Jewish community of Jobar has 60 Musta’arabim families (= native Jews belonging to the ancient Syrian community; the term Musta’arabim is typically used in contrast to ‘Sephardim,’ the Jews who came from Spain. Eventually, both communities merged). In the city, there is a beautiful synagogue, unlike anything I’ve ever seen… with six columns on the right side and seven on the left.
The synagogue, called Eliyahu haNabi, was built above a cave. People say this is the cave where Eliyahu haNabi hid [when he fled from King Ahab], and that the synagogue dates back to the time of the prophet Elisha. [At the entrance to the synagogue, halfway up the right wall], there is an irregularly shaped stone, where one can see the imprint of multiple footprints. According to tradition, this is where Elisha anointed Hazael [king of Aram, ancient Syria].
The synagogue was restored by Rabbi El’azar ben Arach. People told me that many miracles took place in this synagogue. During times of persecution, the Jews would gather there to find refuge from their enemies.”

Rabbi Israel Najara became very famous for his poetry. He wrote hundreds of religious poems known as piyutim (we know of 346), mainly focused on the suffering of the Jewish people and the yearning for redemption. His most famous poem is probably Y-ah Ribbon ‘Alam Ve‘Almaya, a liturgical poem written in rabbinic Aramaic, which has been adopted by both Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities. Another well-known composition is the Ketuba for the Festival of Shabuot, a poem read in many Sephardic communities on Shabuot, which compares the covenant between God and Israel to a marriage ceremony.

Rabbi Najara also authored a book titled Mikve Israel, a collection of 40 sermons he delivered in the Jobar synagogue. In these sermons (derashim), Rabbi Najara weaves together profound Talmudic ideas with philosophy and Jewish mysticism. Notably, his father, Rabbi Moshe Najara, was a student of the renowned Mequbbal the Ari z”l haQadosh, who held Rabbi Najara’s poetry in high regard and once said:

“His poetry is greatly cherished in Heaven.”

In his sermons, one can see that philosophical and mystical elements were secondary for Rabbi Najara. His focus was on Musar — the ethical and moral teachings of the Talmud. Rabbi Najara aimed to teach and inspire people to improve themselves and refine their character. He often emphasized the importance of tsedaqa (charity), mutual financial support, and gemilut jasadim (acts of kindness not necessarily involving money), such as visiting the sick, comforting mourners, and more.

In the final years of his life, after the death of his father, Rabbi Najara moved to the city of Gaza, in Israel. He served as the rabbi of the Jewish community in Gaza until his passing in 1625, and he is buried there. Upon his death, his son, Moshe, succeeded him in this position.

To obtain the book Mikve Israel, click here

 



Rabbi Tam ibn Yahia (1475-1542) and the fire in Constantinopla

Rabbi Tam ibn Yehia was one of the most important rabbis of his generation. He was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1475. In 1496, when the Portuguese Jews had to choose between converting to Christianity or leave the country, Rabbi Tam escaped to the city of Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, Turkey. There, he acted for some time as a member of the rabbinical court of the famous Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrahi (רא”ם). After the death of Rabbi Mizrahi, Rabbi Tam inherited his position and was assigned as the spiritual leader of the Jewish community in Turkey.

Rabbi Tam’s relations with the government of Turkey were excellent. Firstly, because Rabbi Tam was also a renowned physician and became one of the most trusted doctors of the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566). Second, because Rabbi Tam  mastered the Turkish and Arabic languages, and he was an expert in Islamic law [sic]. His son Gedalia ben Tam (Rabbi of Thessaloniki, Greece) wrote in his book of Jewish history Shalshelet haQabbalá  “my father’s knowledge of Islamic Law was so great that Muslim judges [= Imams] often consulted with him regarding their decisions. “

At that time, all countries in the Middle East, including Syria, Egypt and Israel, were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Being the chief rabbi of Turkey conferred Rabbi Tam the rabbinical authority over all the rabbis of the Middle East. Thus, Rabbi Tam, was permanently consulted not only by individuals but also by his colleagues from across the Middle East, who sought his verdict when there was some debate or discussion among them.

The importance of the prestige of Rab Tam in the court of Suleiman the Magnificent should not be underestimated, also from the political standpoint. Thanks to the excellent relations of Rabbi Tam with the Sultan, all Jewish communities in the Middle East enjoyed the favor of the Sultan and the Ottoman Empire, which often meant the difference between life and death of a Jew , or the destruction or survival of entire Jewish communities.

Rabbi Tam was also a prolific writer. One of his students, Rabbi Binyamin Motal, wrote that Rabbi Tam composed:.. … “The book Ma’ase Nisim, a commentary on the Rif . Al Hanisim, a commentary on the Ran . And he also wrote a very extensive book with the records of all his halakhic rulings. A collection of thousands of Halakhic questions,  sent to him from all over the world, and his responses, including his analysis and verdicts. He also wrote tens of thousands of explanations of the Gemara, commentaries on the Tora  and the Midrashim, sermons, books on science, etc. “

The reader may wonder, how is it possible that a Rabbi of the stature of rabbi Tam, who was so famous and prolific in his time (in my opinion he was a “Maimonides 16th century”) is so little known in our time?

I think that there are two possible answers to this question: First, that unfortunately most Sephardic rabbis are ignored and unknown. This historical injustice is being reversed and although much remains to be done, gradually the Hakhamim Sephardim are more and better known.  The second answer is that, in the particular case of Rabbi Tam ibn Yehia, there was a tragic factor which contributed to pushing his name into oblivion. In 1541 there was a terrible fire in the city of Constantinople. This fire claimed many lives, and consumed virtually all the books of Rabbi Tam ibn Yehia. Such was the pain Rabbi Tam suffered seeing the work of his life consumed by fire, that, according to his students testimony, his death in 1542 was partly due to the sadness and grief he suffered by the loss of his manuscripts.

All what is left to us from the work of Rabbi Tam is a small compilation of some of his comments on the Rif (Derekh Tamim), and a collection of just 213 rabbinical responses (Ahole Tam ) in a book published by his grandson, Don Tam ben Gedalia, in Venice, Italy, 1620.

To download these books click here



Rabbi Yehuda Moscato (1530-1593) and the Cuzary

Rabbi Yehuda Moscato was born in Osimo, Italy in 1530. He was a rabbi a poet, and a philosopher. He left Osimo in 1555 and went to Mantua  (Montova) when the situation of the Jews there worsened under the pope Paul IV. In Mantua he had the instruction of the foremost Jews of his time, the brothers Moshe, David, and Yehuda Provençal and Azaria de Rossi. In 1587 he became chief rabbi of Mantua.
Rabbi Moscato was educated in all areas of knowledge. As many of his contemporaries, he believed that Jews should learn liberal arts and sciences because all knowledge derives from Tora knowledge.   In terms of Jewish thought he followed the greatest Jewish Philosophers, rabbi Yehuda haLevy and Maimonides.
Rabbi Moscato also wrote poetry.  Especially “elegies” (funerary poetry) on the deaths of friends and scholars, including one poem on the death of Rabbi Yosef Caro (1585).
We know of two books published by rabbi Moscato. The first one is Nefutsot Yehuda. This book was composed in Mantua and published in Venice in 1589. It is a collection of  fifty-two sermons which takes the subject of Jewish festivals as a platform for addressing issues in philosophy, theology, ethics, history, and other subjects that were relevant for the speaker and for his audience. These sermons were delivered in Hebrew and Italian.
Illustration: Sermon eleven is entitled: “What should a man do to live rightly in this world and to inherit the world to come?”  ( מה יעשה האדם ויחיה בזה ובבא ). The sermon is build around the Psalm 15 of the book of Tehilim.  Rabbi Moscato explains that this Psalm could be divided thematically into three subjects: the obligations of man toward God, the obligations of man toward men, and the obligations of man toward himself.
Rabbi Moscato shows that also the Ten commandments are divided into these three categories, as expressed in man’s actions, speech and thoughts.
The book Nefutsot Yehuda was translated into English by Gianfraco Milet and Giusepe Veltri and it can be found in Google books, see   here
The Second important book Rabbi moscato wrote is Qol Yehuda, the first and the most popular commentary of the book “The Cuzari” , by rabbi Yehuda haLevi.
One interesting point brought by rabbi Moscato is the historicity of the Cuzari, in other words, the assertion that the dialogues and debates between a Jewish sage, the “haber” Rabbi Yitshak haSangari, and the King of the Khazars was a real and historical event, and not a literary fiction of Rabbi Yehuda haLevi.
“ Should it not be believed that the great and awe-inspiring story which is the basis and essence of this book [The Cuzari by Yehuda HaLevi] is true and really happened? If that were not so, why would the author of the book lie? For he wrote in the beginning of his book: ‘As it has been recorded and known from historical works.’ He repeated that in the introduction to the second part of his book: ‘This is what happened afterwards with regard to the Kuzari, as it is known in the books of Khazaria.”
Today is accepted even by secular historians that the events narrated in the Cuzari took place in the eight century, in the times of the King Bulan. And that the Khazars, or at least a notable segments of its aristocracy, converted to Judaism.
Rabbi Yehuda Moscato died in Montova Italy in 1593.To download the book Nefutsot Yehuda follow this link



Rabbi Shimon Duran (1361-1444) and his commentary to Pirqe about

Rabbi Shimon ben Tsemah Duran , also known as the “RASHBETS” was born in 1361 in Majorca, Spain.  In his youth he studied with the famous Rabbi Efraim Vidal,  the head of the Yeshiba of Majorca.  Besides his profound studies in Tora, and following the classic educational method of  Spanish Jews, he acquired a thorough knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, philosophy and particularly medicine. In Majorca, Rabbi Duran practiced as a physician and a surgeon in the city of Palma.
The Jewish community of Majorca was prosperous, and before the massacres of 1391 the Jewish community there consisted of more than 1,000 families. In 1391 the anti-Jewish riots sweeping Spain also reached Majorca. In the city of Palma the riots broke out on July 10.  The mob broke down the gates of the  Jewish quarter (known in Spanish as the “Call” =Qahal)  and massacred scores of Jews, pillaging, and stealing their possessions.  Many Jews were forced to accept baptism in order to save their lives. Other Jews were tortured to death for not accepting baptism, among them Rabbi Duran’s old teacher, Rabbi Vidal. Those who “converted” were subjects to the scrutiny of the Inquisition who persecuted them. If a “converso” was found practicing Judaism (“judaizando”) he will be burned alive. The descendants of Majorcan conversos kept Judaism in secret for centuries. Until the close of the 15th century, 346 trials of the Inquisition were held in Majorca and 257 “conversos” (popularly known as “marranos”) were condemn to death by fire. By 1771 the Inquisition had sent a total of 594 “conversos” to the stake. The Majorcan “conversos” are known by a specific name “chuetas” (see  here).
Back to rabbi Duran, in September 1391 he escaped to Algiers, in North Africa. In Algiers Rabbi Shimon was unable to earn his livelihood from his medical profession, since the native population resorted to “healers”  rather than to professional doctors.  Reluctantly, he was forced to accept a salaried office of rabbi.  Rabbi Shimon Duran joined the Bet Din of the famous rabbi Isaac bar Sheshet, (RIBASH). These two Rabbis  and later on Rabbi Duran’s son, Rabbi Shimon Duran (RASHBASH) established  the foundation for the “Sephardic” customs and traditions of Algerian and most North African Jews. After the death of rabbi Isaac bar Sheshat (1408) Rabbi Duran was appointed as the Rabbi of Algiers. His Halakhic decisions were a guide to later posqim who frequently quote them, including rabbi Yosef caro in the Bet Yosef/Shulhan ‘arukh.
BOOKS
Rabbi Shimon Duran wrote 14 books.
His most famous work is undoubtedly the responsa known as TASHBETS, a collection of 802 Halakhic questions an answers.
His other books are less known. So, they deserve perhaps more attention.
Rabbi Duran wrote many books on the area of ideas and beliefs. He wrote a monumental book called Magen Abot, “In defense of our fathers”. This book comprises four tractates, which sometimes were published as independent works.
In the first tractate,  חלק א׳ ממעל, Rabbi Duran deals with subjects related to theology. God’s existence, unity, incorporeality, etc.  This tractate was written mainly against the backdrop of the philosophical Aristotelian thinking prevalent in his days, akin to what today would be considered “secular thinking”.
In the second tractate חלק שוסינו he explains the concept of Tora Min HaShamayim, i.e., the divine origin of our Tora, prophecy, the oral Tora, etc.
The third tractate, חלק יעקב, is mainly about the Jewish beliefs of the immortality of the soul and resurrection.
In these three tractates he systemically follows and defends the 13 principles of faith established by Maimonides. Also, within these books, Rabbi Duran wrote a long chapter where he critically compares Judaism with Christianity and Islam. He clarified that he wrote this chapter to give ammunition to the Jews who were constantly persecuted by missioners, from both religions, trying to convince them to leave their faith. This book, which is not only apologetic but highly critical of those faiths, was censured for centuries and was published as an independent booklet in Livorno, Italy, 1785 under the name “Qeshet uMagen”(bow andarrows, to attack, a shield, to defend)
The fourth part of  Magen Abot is a comnatery on Pirqe Abot, and it mainly deals with Jewish ethics.
Since we are in the days of the Omer, and it is customary to study Pirqe Abot in the coming days I will be writing mainly about this Mishna. Ihis year, BH, I will base my commentaries on Magen Abot, the book written on the subject by Rabbi Duran.
I will be using a new edition of this book which was graciously sent to me by the author, rabbi Eliyahu Zini, from Haifa, who published this new edition in 2014 ( see here ).
To download the book Qeshet uMagen click here