Rabbi Yehuda Alqalai (1798-1878) and Modern Zionism

Rabbi Yehuda Alqalai was one of the first rabbis (or Jews) in modern times to formulate the idea of a return to Zion. Following the footsteps of Rabbi Yehuda Bibas, he did not envision the return to Zion just as a solution for the eternal problem of anti-Semitism but essentially as a way to fulfill the Jewish aspiration of political normalization: i.e., Jews living in their Jewish homeland. He understood that the nation of Israel needs not wait passively until the Mashiach comes to realize this aspiration. Rather, it should actively seek the reestablishment of an independent Jewish state in the forefather’s land as a way to advance the coming of the Messiah.

Rabbi Alqalai formulated his plan and ideas for the restoration of the Jews in Israel in his book Goral lahaShem, published in Viena in 1857. In this book, rabbi Alqalai designed a comprehensive plan with the religious foundations and the practical steps to be taken in order to reestablish the Jewish nation in Israel. The book was published in three different editions and translated into many languages, including English. The correspondence between the practical ideas of this book and Theodore Herzl’s: “The State for the Jew” (Medinat haYehudim) is so similar that it is not improbable that Herzl was familiar with his book and had internalized its concepts which were later on formulated in his famous book. Simon Loeb Herzl, Theodore Herzl’s paternal grandfather, attended the Alqalai’s synagogue in Semlin (Serbia) and the two frequently visited each other. Grandfather Simon Loeb Herzl “had his hands on” one of the first copies of Alqalai’s work Goral lahaShem prescribing the “return of the Jews to the Holy Land and renewed glory of Jerusalem.” Many contemporary scholars conclude that Herzl’s own implementation of modem Zionism was undoubtedly influenced by that relationship.

Rabbi Alqalai made Aliya to Israel in 1874. He established himself in Yafo and together with other Jews from the Ottoman empire and North Africa founded the community Mikve Israel of the Old Yeshub of the city. He died four years later and he is buried in the Har Hazetim (Jerusalem).

I present to the readers the book GORAL LAHASHEM by Rabbi Yehuda Alqalai. It is very interesting to see the haskamot (Letters of support) he had from many prominent rabbis. to me, the most interesting haskama was the first one, which seems to have been written originally in Hebrew, by Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) a contemporary of rabbi Alqalai.

Rabbi Ya’aqob Meir (1856-1939) First Sephardic Chief Rabbi Of Israel

Rabbi Ya’aqob Meir (his original last name was “Mercado”) was born in Jerusalem in 1856. He was the son of a very successful and generous merchant, Caleb Mercado. He studied with Rabbis Menachem Bekhor Isaac and Aharon Azriel. He was an accomplished Talmudic scholar who was fluent in Hebrew and five other languages. At the age of 16 he married Rachel Yitzhaki. While studying, he devoted himself to activism for the benefit of the incipient Jewish community in Palestine (Israel). In 1879, he was one of the founders of Bikur Cholim, which established the Misgab Ladach Hospital in Jerusalem.

KIBUTZ GALUYOT

In 1882, he was sent as an emissary to Bukhara (Uzbekistan). The Jews of Bukhara, who rarely had such prestigious visitors, received him with great respect. And in his honor they called all his children born during his stay with his name. The Rabbi helped them with the formulation of religious and community regulations and encouraged them to emigrate to Israel. Thanks to his encouragement, from 1889 the Jews of Bukhara began to emigrate en masse to Israel. From 1888 to 1899 he was a member of the Rabbinical court of Ya’aqob Shaul Elyashar, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. In this capacity he helped establish new neighborhoods, such as Ezrat Yisrael, Yemin Moshe, and the Bukhara neighborhood in Jerusalem (shechunat habujarim).

ACHDUT ISRAEL

At that time the differences between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews were very significant, culturally and even religiously. Both communities wanted their own Rabbis and did not agree. Rav Meir, aware of the importance of us Yehudim sticking together, worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between the two communities. One of his projects was the establishment of the HITACHDUT, an organization of Sephardic “and” Ashkenazi rabbis, something unprecedented until then. One of the first things this organization did was to appoint Naftalí Hertz HaLevi, an Ashkenazi rabbi born in Białystok, Poland, to serve as the sole rabbi of the city of Jaffa, and to be accepted by Ashkenazim and Sefaradim. HEBREW LANGUAGE Rabbi Meir was also noted for his effort to revive the Hebrew language. Hebrew had ceased to be a spoken language by 2,000 years. Rabbi Meir founded the organization “Safa Berura” together with Rabbi Chaim Hirchenson. Later the famous Eliezer Ben-Yehuda joined this organization. These tireless volunteers roamed the schools and Yeshivot of the Yishub teaching Hebrew and encouraging its daily use.

ISRAELI POLITICS

After Rabbi Elyashar’s passing in 1906, Rabbi Yaakov Meir was the natural candidate to be the new Rishon LeZion. But many leaders opposed him and accused him of being “too Zionist” (an accusation that certainly made him proud) and the Rabbi was frowned upon by the Turkish-Ottoman authorities, who ruled Palestine until 1917, and they were not in favor. agreement on the immigration of so many Jews to Israel.

THESSALONIKI

In the summer of 1907, Rabbi Meir was invited to serve as Chief Rabbi in Thessaloniki, Greece. At that time this was one of the largest Sephardic communities in the world with about 100,000 members. Thessaloniki also stood out as the only city with a Jewish majority. The Rabbi stayed in Salonika for 10 years. When the First World War began he did something extraordinary: he organized a group of young Greek Jews, “The Hebrew Legion”, to fight for the liberation of Palestine. He also encouraged many Jews from Thessaloniki to settle in the land of Israel.

GONE WTH THE FIRE

In 1917 there was a tragic fire in Thessaloniki that irreversibly devastated the community. More than 50,000 Jews lost their homes in this fire. 16 of the 33 synagogues and the Rabbinate with all its archives were destroyed. Rabbi Meir’s home was also affected, and his entire library was destroyed. The worst and most tragic thing for Rabbi Meir was that the fire also consumed his manuscripts: all the explanations, the comments and the rabbinical responsa that he had strict for 20 or 30 years… he could never find consolation for this loss. Since there were no books written by him then, his words and opinions were recorded in the books of other rabbis, such as Rabbi Ben-Zion Cuenca and Rabbi Isaac Abulafia.

RISHON LEZION

In 1919, Rabbi Jacob Meir returned to Erets Israel where he was honored and decorated with the Commander of the Order of the British Empire award for his service in war. In 1921 with the help of Rabbi Abraham Kook, he was chosen as Israel’s chief Sephardic Rabbi aka, Rishon leZion. He held this position until his death. The 1920s and 1930s were very critical times for the “Jewish settlement” that was not yet independent. And there was much to do. One of Rabbi Meir’s main contributions was the establishment of a Rabbinical Court of Appeal: although the law of Palestine was established by the British authorities, if a legal ruling opposed Jewish law, a Jew residing in Israel had the right to appeal and ask to be tried by Jewish law in this court of appeals that was founded and headed by Rabbi Meir.

PEACE WITH THE ARABS

In 1924, he participated with Colonel Frederic Kish and David Yellin in meetings in Amman, Jordan, with Hussein bin Ali and his son Abdullah, in an attempt to establish good relations between Arabs and Israeli Jews, which at that time was not inconceivable. The Sephardic rabbis and leaders (such as Abraham Shalom Yahuda and others) had a great advantage over other rabbis and politicians in this area: they spoke the language of the Arabs, they were part of a similar eastern culture and shared a similar mindset, and this allowed them a more fluid and diplomatic dialogue with the Arabs. Rabbi Meir passed away in May 1939 and Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel took his place.

WATCH this rare historic footage from 1918. The 3rd rabbi to appear is Rabbi Ya’aqob Meir.

The sad words of rabbi Jacob Meir about the consequences of the fire in Salonika

היות כי לדאבוני פרצה תבערה גדולה בשאלוניקי בשנת תעז”ר ונשרפו כל בתי עיר הפנימית ובכללם גם משרד הרבנות והמעון שאני דרתי בו, נשרפו גם שני הקונטרסים אשר טיפחתי וריביתי בימי בחרות, הראשון על שו”ע אבן העזר והשני על חושן משפט, ולא נשארה לי העתקה מהם… חוץ מזה לא נשאר בידי כלום. עתה אין בכוחי לכתוב חידושי תורה מחמת כמה סיבות. ראשית, אין לי כל הספרים הדרושים לתכלית זו, ספרייתי העשירה שהייתה לי לפני נוסעי לסאלוניקי התפוררה והתפזרה… שני טרדות הציבור מונעות עתה ממני להפנות לזה ושלישית הנה באתי בימים וזקנה קפצה עלי. אני מוסר מודעה כי כל מה שאנוכי רושם וכותב בפנקסי אינו לשם חיבור כדי להדפיסו היות שידעתי שאין בו דיבור של ממש…”

Rabbi Menashe ben Israel (1604-1657) the most famous Jew in the world

Portrait of Menasseh ben Israel by Rembrandt

Ribbi Menashe was born in Portugal in 1604, under the name Manoel Dias Soeiro. His family moved to the Netherlands in 1610, when Amsterdam was an important center of Jewish life in Europe. Like many other Jews arriving from Portugal, Ribbi Menashe’s family openly returned to Judaism.

Young Menashe received the best possible education within the Sephardic tradition, which maintains that secular studies should complement religious studies. He excelled in his Talmudic studies and deeply knew the Tanakh. He mastered the entire spectrum of Jewish thought, from the school of Maimonides to the writings of the most famous Kabbalists.

He had an extensive knowledge of medicine, mathematics, and astronomy in secular matters. He stood out in languages: he spoke ten languages. He was also well-versed in classical literature and the writings of non-Jewish philosophers and theologians. This knowledge enabled him to debate with non-Jewish intellectuals and refute their ideas when they contradicted Judaism.

At the surprisingly young age of 18, in 1620, he was appointed as the rabbi of the Sephardic community and soon became one of the most famous preachers in that prestigious community. Shortly after assuming this position, he married Raquel Soeiro, a direct descendant of Rabbi Don Yitzchak Abarbanel, with whom he had three children.

In 1626, he established the first Hebrew press in Amsterdam, and indeed in all of the Netherlands, called “Emet MeErets Titsmaj.” In his printing press, he used a new typeface that would later be copied by many European presses.

During those years, the Dutch colonized Brazil, and many Jews from the Amsterdam community, and prominent international traders, moved to the city of Recife in the region of Pernambuco. In 1638, Ribbi Menashe decided to visit Recife and was probably the first rabbi to set foot on American soil, but he returned to Amsterdam shortly after arriving because two important Portuguese Jewish entrepreneurs, the brothers Abraham, and Isaac Pereyra, had settled in the city and offered to hire Rabbi Menashe to lead a Talmud Torah, a Jewish school they had founded.

One of Ribbi Menashe’s early books was “El Conciliador,” written in Spanish and later translated into English by Elias Hayim Lindo (see here). This extraordinary book (which I mention several times in my book “Awesome Creation”) aims to reconcile all the texts of the Tanakh that seem to contradict each other. For example, one of the first points he analyzes is the apparent contradiction between what the Torah describes during the first three days of Creation, “and there was evening, and there was morning,” and what seems to be the creation of the sun on the fourth day. Rabbi Menashe presents eight possible answers to resolve this issue (the Jewish sages, by the way, explain that the sun and moon were created on the first day, in the first act of Creation). In this book, the Portuguese rabbi refutes the arguments of self-proclaimed Bible critics. It was one of the first works written by a Jew in a modern language that aroused great interest among Christian readers. This earned the rabbi a great reputation in the non-Jewish academic world. Over time, his fame as a scholar and expert in all matters of learning and science spread beyond the Netherlands. Some of the most prominent figures in the world sought his friendship and advice. His non-Jewish correspondents and friends included Queen Christina of Sweden, the famous artist Rembrandt who painted his portrait, and the statesman and philosopher Hugo Grotius.

In 1644, Ribbí Menashe met Antonio de Montezinos, a Portuguese Jewish converso who had traveled to the New World and had encountered the then-exotic lands and cultures of the Americas. Montezinos told him that the indigenous peoples of the South American Andes practiced certain rituals and symbols similar to those of the Jews and that, in his opinion, they were descendants of the Ten Tribes of Israel. The colorful accounts of Montezinos and Ribbi Menashe’s theory regarding the significance of this discovery in relation to the arrival of the Messiah were recorded in one of his most famous books, which he wrote in Spanish: “MIKVE ISRAEL: La esperanza de Israel o el origen de los americanos.”

A few years later, he wrote an extraordinary historical and philosophical treatise addressed to the authorities of England, presenting arguments in favor of the readmission of Jews to England, from where they had been expelled in 1290. His letter to Cromwell, written in perfect English, can be found here in this link from Hebrewbooks (https://hebrewbooks.org/52715). In 1653, Ribbi Menashe traveled to England to formally request the readmission of Jews. He was received by none other than Oliver Cromwell. However, he faced many difficulties, including the demand that for readmission, Jews had to convert en masse to Christianity. He left England and returned to the Netherlands in 1655, frustrated for not achieving his objective and materially impoverished for not having worked for such a long time. He never knew that it was thanks to his efforts that Oliver Cromwell finally readmitted Jews to England and allowed them to freely practice their religion, as he passed away in Amsterdam that same year, 1657.

In his time, Rabbi Menashe ben Israel was the most famous Jew in the world.

For a complete biography, see “Cecil Roth: Life of Menasseh Ben Israel (The Modern Jewish Experience).”

Rabbi Emanuel Abohab (1555-1628) and the Jewish “Mental Law”

Rabbi Emanuel Abohab was born in the city of Porto, Portugal, in 1555. He was the great-grandson of the famous rabbi Isaac Abohab, also known as the Gaon of Castile (d. 1493).

Rabbi Abohab lost his parents at an early age and he was raised by his grandfather, Abraham Abohab. In Portugal the Jews had to live like anusim (crypto-Jews) or Marranos, unable to practice Judaism. In 1585 he emigrated to Italy and since then he dedicated his life to encouraging anusim living as Catholics to escape from Portugal and Spain and embrace Judaism in Italy and, from 1596, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

He lived for short time in various Italian cities, such as Pisa and Spoleto. His writing career began in an unusual way. In 1608 he wrote a treatise on the famous Latin phrase “Humanum est peccare, angelicum se emendare, diabolicum perseverare”, “To err is human, to amend [our mistakes] is angelic, and to persevere [in one’s sin] is perverse.” In this short treatise Rabbi Abohab exposed this sentence from the Jewish perspective of Teshuba. By doing this, he wished to to reach out to the crypto-Jews, who knew Latin better than Hebrew, and persuade them to amend their ways and come back to Judaism.

In 1615 he established himself in Venice, a major center of Jewish life at the time, where he was invited to serve as the rabbi of the Jewish-Portuguese community of that city. That year he began his most important book, “Nomology or Legal Discourses”.

Towards the end of his life, Rabbi Abohab led a group of Yehudim to Erets Israel and he finally settled in Yerushalayim. There, he also continued his work to encourage anusim to come back to their origins. He died in 1628.

“NOMOLOGIA O DISCURSOS LEGALES”

This book was originally written in Spanish and first published in Amsterdam in 1629, a year after the author’s death. The book “Nomology or Legal Discourses” deals primarily with the subject of Tora she be’al pe, commonly known as the “Oral Law”, which Rabbi Abohab with an excellent judgment calls “Mental Law”, i.e., the explanation, exposition and application of the Mitsvot, as our Sages taught.

This topic was very critical for the anusim since most of them were educated in convents, and although they knew very well the Biblical text, all they had learned was the Christian explanations of it, and they lacked the mental apparatus to process the Tora in the original Jewish way.

One example: In his book Rabbi Abohab dedicates two chapters (Section 2, Chapter 18 and 19) to denounce how contemporary Catholic translations deliberately deviated from the literal meaning of the Biblical text to suit their dogmas of faith. This sort of things contributed to the “mental” switch, from the Jewish to the gentile mode of understanding the Bible.

The book “Nomologia” (nomology means “the science of the laws of the mind”) is divided into two sections.

The first section contains 25 chapters and 30 chapters the second section.

Some illustrations

Section 1

1: 9: (original text) “En el qual se prueva como es impossible entenderse el perfecto modo de la observancia de los preceptos divinos sin la doctrina de los Sabios”(“In which it is shown that it is impossible to understand the perfect way for the observance of the divine precepts without the doctrine of the Elders”)

From Chapter 15 to 21 the author shows that the Mental Law is necessary for the observance of mitsvot, and as an example he brings the Rabbis’ calculation of the complex Hebrew calendar, which combines the cycles of the sun and moon.

In chapters 22, 23 and 24 he exposes the 13 principles of Halakhic interpretation (hermeneutics) of Rabbi Yshma’el.

Section 2

This section explains that HaShem gave us the written Tora and the “Mental Law”; how is the level of prophecy reached; the superior level of Moshe Rabbenu’s prophecy and the history of the uninterrupted transmission of the “Mental Law” since Moses until his own days. One of the last rabbanim mentioned is Rabbi Yosef Caro (1488-1575)

More, from the original Spanish text:

Chapter 14 (on the authority of the Sanhedrin). “En el que se trata el principio y institucion del Supremo magistrado de los setenta y un Senadores [Sanhedrín] y de la obediencia que le devia todo el pueblo de Israel”

Chapter 26 (on the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain) “En el que se cuenta el destierro de los iudios de los reynos de Castilla en el año de cinco mil y dozientos y cinquenta y dos, y el de Portugal que sucedió de alli a seis años,las causas que movieron a aquellos reyes a desterrarlos etc.”

To download the book “Nomologia” click here

NOTE: When reading this book, the reader should know that in old Spanish (and English) the letter “S” at the beginning or in the middle of the word, is used to be written taller than today’s “s”, and it gives the feeling of being an “f”.

Rabbi Shelomo ibn Verga (ca. 1460-1540) and “La vara de Yehuda”

Shelomo Ibn Verga was a rabbi, an historian, an astronomer and a famous physician. He was born in Spain (probably Sevilla) in 1460. He was the nephew of rabbi Yehuda ibn Verga, and the father of rabbi Yosef ibn Verga, author of the famous book she-erit Yosef, a book on the methodology of the Talmud (the Sephardic last name “Ergaz” comes from this prestigious family).

In 1492, the year of the expulsion of Spain, he was one of the many Jews (probably, more than 100 thousand) that abandoned Spain and went to Portugal where the king Joao welcomed them. As we know, in 1496 the new King Manuel reversed this good attitude toward the Jews, converted them forcefully to Christianity and set the tribunals of the Inquisition to ban and punish any form of Jewish practice.

Among many important things he did, Rabbi Verga went in a mission to the Spanish communities to collect funds for the ransom of the Jewish prisoners of Malaga. He also attempted to save the Jewish children that were kidnapped in Portugal by the order of King Manuel to be sent to the island of Saint Tome and converted to Christianity. Rabbi Ibn Verga also witnessed the massacre of the Jews of Lisbon, in 1506. That year, he escaped to Turkey where he completed his book Shebet Yehuda, “The scepter of Juda.”

THE BOOK SHEBET YEHUDA

In this book the author describes the persecutions, tribulations, expulsions, massacres and pogroms that the Jews suffered since the times of Marco Antonio (1st Century BCE) until his own days (the beginning of the 16th century). The book was published by the author’s, son Rabbi Yosef ibn Verga, in Adrianople in 1554.

Shebet Yehuda contains 64 chapters. Except for two chapters (chapter 42 which describes the ceremony of the installation of the Babylonian exilarch o resh galuta, and chapter 64 where he describes the Bet haMiqdash built by Shelomo haMelekh)the book deals with the persecutions and massacres of the Jews in Spain, but the author also refers to the progroms and expulsions of the Jews in Italy, France, England, Germany and all over Europe as well as North Africa and Middle East.

A significant part of the book is dedicated to the account of the theological debates between Jews and Christians. Chapter 40, for example narrates the story of the Disputation of Tortosa. In many instances, but particularly in chapter 63, Rabbi Ibn Verga asks himself about the causes for the persecutions of the Jews, especially the Jews from Spain, who up until his days “suffered from persecutions more than any other people”. He brings many arguments philosophical, theological and historical reasons. He also does not endeavor to conceal the faults of the Jews. In this way, as he said in his introduction, he tries to exhort his people to turn to God in order to end their persecutions and tribulations.

Click here to download the book Shebet Yehuda from Hebrewbooks.org. (in the last pages of this edition you can find a priceless detailed index of names)

Rabbi Yishma’el haCohen (1723-1811)

Rabbi Yishma’el haCohen was born in the city of Modena, Italy, in 1723. He was considered the most important rabbi (poseq) of his generation in Italy. He was also a very beloved rabbi by all his congregants. Despite his great intellect, he used to speak to his congregants in a simple language and at their level of understanding.

Rabbi Yishma’el served as the rabbi of Modena for more than 30 years, but practically speaking he was the main rabbinic referent of Italy during his lifetime. He wrote thousands of Teshubot (Rabbinic Responsa) answering to Halakhic questions sent by Italian Jews from all the corners of the country. He was highly praised by all his contemporary colleagues, among them the famous rabbi Hayim Yosef David Azulai, the Hida.

The times of rabbi Yishma’el, were the times of the first reformers in Europe. Many “enlightened” Jews were proposing radical changes in Judaism, to reform the Tora to modern times and remove from Judaism its national dimension. Rabbi Yishma’el stood at the vanguard on the battle against reform, safeguarding traditional Judaism against the new waves of assimilation.

He wrote many religious poems (pizmonim, baqashot), some of them were sung every shabbat in his Synagogue.He also wrote:

Sefat emet: a collection of his speeches on the Parasha of the week.

Shebah Pesah. A book that explains the Hagada of Pesah and the laws of the holiday.

His most famous book is zera’ emet. This is a collection of hundreds of Responsa on many different Halakhic subjects. It is also very important because it is one of the first books to address questions that arose in modern times which required a respected Halakhic authority to set new legal precedents.

The name of the book, zera’ emet (“True descendants”) requires some explanation. Rabbi Yishma’el did not have children. And although, as he mentioned in his book, he loved and care for every one of his students as if they were his own children, he considered this book his true legacy for posterity. In the introduction of zera’ emet he quotes the beautiful analogy our Rabbis wrote to express the “immortality” acquired by a Torah Scholar who writes a relevant book. They said that when the readers read the words of a Torah scholar who passed away, “his lips move in his grave”, (siftotav dobebot baqaber), in other words, the act of reading revives the words of the Torah scholar, bringing his legacy and memory back to life.

Rabbi Yishma’el passed away in Modena, 1811

Rabbi Menashe Setton (ca. 1810-1876)

Rabbi Menashe Setton ( סתהון , also Sittehon or Sutton) was born in Aram Soba (Aleppo) Syria. He was a great Tora scholar, well versed in secular knowledge like astronomy, philosophy, mathematics and engineering. Although he was an ordained rabbi, Rabbi Setton supported himself through business initiatives. Following the tradition of Sephardic rabbis he was also an expert in Hebrew grammar (diqduq).

Rabbi Setton’s most famous book is “kenesiya leshem shamayim”, a “gathering for the sake of heaven”. In this short book rabbi Setton argues fiercely against a prevalent superstitious ceremony called “Endulzado” (Spanish for “sweetening”).

In the beginning of his book Rabbi Setton describes this practice: Whenever there was a sick member of the family, a women about to give birth, or someone whose loved ones were dying, etc. they would empty a house, remove all type of Tora books and Mezuzot and display in the floor all kinds of baked sweets, candies, honey, etc. The patient and the expert exorcist would stay and sleep for three consecutive nights in that house. All this time, it was forbidden for the patient to pronounce any word of Tora or Tefila. The exorcist, usually a female, would summon “demons” (shedim) to visit the house. The demons would come into the house freely, because the house was empty of anything “holy” which would drive them away. Once the exorcist felt that the demos were inside the house, she would offer the demons those sweets to appease them and ask them to cure the patient or release the patient from their curse.

Rabbi Setton first explains that this is a flagrant act of idol-worshiping, known in Hebrew as ‘aboda zara, the most serious offense in the entire Tora. He also explained that these people learned this ceremony from the books of the ancient “sabians”, an ancient pagan sect who worshiped angels and demons.

After describing this practice, rabbi Setton referred to the silence of the rabbis of the city. He said that the reason the rabbis did not denounce this practice was probably because they were not aware of what was going on behind those closed doors. Many of them thought that perhaps, people were just praying in an intense way, etc. Once the rabbis became aware of what was going on in those houses, ALL the rabbis “gathered together for the sake of heaven” (from here the name of the book) to ban and eradicated this pagan practice.

Rabbi Sutton was widely supported in his efforts by numerous other rabbis from his city (thirty six rabbis from Aleppo signed their approval of his book) as well as from rabbinic leaders in Jerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron, and Safed, from both the Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities.

Rabbi Menashe Setton died in Alexandria, Egypt in 1876

To download this enlightening book KENESIYA LESHEM SHAMAYIM click here

לע”נ אייל יפרח, נפתלי פרנקל וגיל-עד שאער הי”ד

Rabbi Moshe Capsali 1420-1495

Rabbi Capsali was born in the Island of Crete (today Greece) in 1420. Not much is known about his early life, except that he went to study Tora in Germany, became a rabbi and then in 1450 he settled in Constantinople (modern day, Istanbul).

Rabbi Capsali became very prominent thanks to his closeness with the Turkish Sultan Mehmed the Second, also known as “The Conqueror”. Mehmed II brought the end of the Byzantine empire and conquered Constantinople in 1453. He was one of the most powerful men on the planet in those days. The Sultan appointed Rabbi Capsali as the Chief Rabbi or Hakham Bashi of the Ottoman empire.

As the Chief rabbi of the Empire, rabbi Capsali was in charge of appointing other rabbis and supervising the collection of taxes coming from the Jews. He also acted as a civil judge. It is said that the Sultan’s respect for the rabbi was because, disguised as a civilian, Mehmed II was present one day while Capsali was rendering his decisions and he assured himself that the rabbi was incorruptible and impartial in his judgments.

The Sultan appreciated so much Rabbi Capsali that he assigned him a seat beside the Mufti, the Muslim highest authority, and above the seat of the Christian patriarch.

One of the most important contribution of Rabbi Capsali to Am Israel is that thanks to his favor with the Sultan, the Sultan opened the gates of his empire to tens of thousands of Jewish refugees who were escaping form the horrors of the Inquisition in Spain and from persecutions they suffered in many Christian countries. The Sultan allowed and even encouraged the Jewish refugees to build homes, synagogues and houses of study (Bate Midrash), and to practice their religion freely.

In 1492, towards the last years of Rabbi Capsali’s life, the great tragedy of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain took place. His advanced age notwithstanding, Rabbi Capsali dedicated himself in soul and body to help the victims of the expulsion. Many Sephardic Jews were captured by pirates when escaping from Spain and were sold as slaves. Rabbi Capsali personally traveled to various Jewish communities in his country to collect funds for Pidyon Shebuim, to redeem these Jews. It was thanks to rabbi Capsali that the most prominent Sephardic communities in those times flourished in Constantinople and other cities of the Ottoman empire.

Rabbi Capsali died in 1495 at the age of 75 he was succeeded as Hakham Bashi by Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrahi.

Rabbi Hayim Habib (1882-1945)

Rabbi Hayim Habib was born in the city of Salonica (aka Saloniki, or Thessaloniki), Greece, in 1882. His father was a Dayan (Rabbinical judge), rabbi Refael Habib. The Salonican Jewish community was one of the most prolific Sephardic communities in the world. In 1900 there were approximately 80,000 Jews in Salonica, out of a total population of 173,000 souls. The Jews could be found in every profession: merchants, lawyers, physicians, teachers, etc. The Jewish stevedores of Salonica were famous. On Shabbats the town and the port was closed since the Jews did not work. There were 49 Synagogues in Salonica and a 500-year-old Sephardic cemetery with half-million graves.

Rabbi Hayim Habib studied in the Talmud Tora (elementary and High School) under rabbi Moshe Ottolenghi (1840-1901) and later in the rabbinical School of Salonica, “Bet Yosef” where he was granted his rabbinical ordination. He also studied accounting and European languages.

When he was in his early 40’s Rabbi Habib was offered to serve as the chief rabbi of Salonica. He was so humble that at the beginning he refused to take the position, but upon the insistence of the Rabbis, he accepted the difficult job. The duties of rabbi Habib were many. Besides being responsible of the kashrut of the city and overseeing all the technical issues of Jewish family Law, Bet Din, etc. he was also in charge of overseeing education . He supervised the rabbinical school, the appointment of hazanim, mohalim and rabbanim for all the Synagogues of the city.

He was also involved in the schools, assisting the teachers, examining the students and making improvements in the school curriculum, which included also the study of modern Hebrew. Rabbi Habib and all Salonica Jews, were very involved in the Zionist movement.

Rabbi Habib was very loved by its community and many considered him a saint (איש קדוש) because he was always helping those in need. The poor, the sick, the elder, they all could count with the unconditional support of rabbi Habib.

During the early 1900′ many Salonica Jews left Greece and emigrated to the US , France and Israel. Still, the pre-World War II Jewish population of Salonica counted 56,000 souls. In 1941 the Nazis יש”ו came to Salonica. They destroyed the Synagogues, the Jewish schools, the libraries, and desecrated the Jewish cemetery. 98 percent of Salonica’s Jews, 54,000 Sephardic Jews, were killed in Auschwitz-Birkenau, or died during the long, exhausting Death March from January to May 1945. Among them Rabbi Hayim Habib, his wife and his two daughters הי”ד.

Rabbi Habib had also another daughter and a son who emigrated to Israel before the Nazis came into the city. The descendants of rabbi Habib live today in Tel Aviv.

Rabbi Shaul haLevi Mortera (1596-1660)

Rabbi Shaul haLevi Mortera was born in Venice, Italy, in 1596. He was a descendent of Portuguese Jews. In 1616 Rabbi Mortera escorted the body of the famous Jewish doctor Eliyahu Montalto, the personal physician of Maria di Medici, from Paris to Amsterdam. There, the new Sephardic community appointed him as their new Rabbi.

In Amsterdam, Rabbi Mortera continued his studies under rabbi Ytshaq Uziel, a rabbi from Morocco. He founded the school Keter Torah, in the highest class of which he taught Talmud and Jewish Philosophy. After a few years he was appointed as the Head of the rabbinical court of the community of Amsterdam.

Later, he founded and taught in the famous Yeshiba Ets haHayim. Among his students were Rabbi Moshe Zacuto, Rabbi Abraham haCohen Pimientel (author of the book “Minhat Cohen”) and Baruch Spinoza. Rabbi Mortera was one of the three dayanim which pronounced the excommunication (herem) against Spinoza on July 27, 1656.

Rabbi Mortera’s most famous book is Gib’at Shaul (here) written in Hebrew, Amsterdam, 1645. A collection of fifty sermons, selected from over 500 sermons, on the weekly sections of the Tora.

Rabbi Mortera was an expert in compared religions, and at that time, when many Jews who lived under the Inquisition for generations were coming back to embrace Judaism, it was critical to teach these “New Jews” (most of them educated in convents) the principles of Judaism, and particularly the differences between Judaism and Christianity. He wrote many books for these Jews, in Portuguese and Spanish. Among them: Tratado de la Verdad de la Ley de Moshe, written originally in Portuguese. In this work he defends Judaism against the attacks of Christianity and explains the Jewish view on the Mashiach, immortality of the soul, God’s revelation, etc. clarifying the Jewish understanding of the Biblical verses the Church used to sustain their beliefs.

SOME OF THE BOOKS RABBI MORTERA

WROTE for the “NEW JEWS”

Preguntas Que Hizo Un Clerigo de Ruan de Francia.

A defense from the attacks of a Catholic priest against the talmud.

Providencia de Dios con Israel
Why God chose the Jewish people? How this choice is manifest?

Memorable relacion para confucion de aquellos que niegan la providencia divina

The Jewish belief in God’s constant providence and supervision (hashagcha)

Obstaculos y opociciones contra la religion Christiana

A critical view on the principles of Christianity

Tratados varios relativos a la religión judía
Basic principles of Judaism for “new Jews”.

La eternidad de la ley de Mosseh

The eternal Law of Moshe, the Tora, cannot be replaced by a new testament. For more information see this