Abraham ben Moshes Algazi haZaken

The Algazis were a noted Turkish rabbinical family from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century. Their origins lay in the city of Bursa, near Istanbul. The family was founded by Abraham ben Moses Algazi the Elder (ca. 1560–ca. 1640), who lived in Bursa and was the son-in-law of Rabbi Joseph ben Moses Benveniste de Segovia. Abraham had three sons: Moses, Isaac, and Solomon Nissim. Little is known about Moses ben Abraham Algazi except that he mutilated himself in some way and emigrated to the Land of Israel in the mid-1630s. He returned to Bursa in his old age, and died there around 1671.

Solomon Nissim ben Abraham Algazi was born in Bursa around 1610 and was educated at yeshivot there and in Gallipoli. He lived in Istanbul in the early 1630s, but later moved between Izmir, Jerusalem, and Egypt. He may at some point have served as rabbi of the Qahal Qadosh Geveret (Señora Holy Congregation) in Izmir. He died in Jerusalem in 1684 or 1685. Several of Solomon Nissim’s sons reached the age of maturity: (1) Joseph (possibly the father of Moses); (2) Abraham (d. 1700); (3) Yom Ṭov (d. 1727); (4) Ḥayyim; and (5) Moses. Abraham’s wife was the daughter of Joseph ben Elijah Ḥazzan (Ḥazan; d. ca. 1694) and the sister of Ḥayyim ben Joseph Ḥazzan (d. 1712) from Izmir. Abraham’s son Yom Ṭov seems to have married another daughter of Ḥayyim Ḥazzan’s. One of Solomon Nissim’s daughters married Aaron ben Isaac Lapapa (ca. 1604–1667), the author of Bene Aharon, who served as a rabbi in Manisa and in Izmir; and another married Jacob ibn Na‘im, who was also a scholar in Izmir. In 1673, Solomon Nissim returned to Izmir to print his book there. With the aid of the Izmir community, he subsequently settled in Jerusalem (see the foreword to Bene Aharon), where he died in 1684 or 1685. His books include Gufe Halakhot, Halikhot Eli, Shema Shelomo, Ta’ava la-‘Enayyim, Appiryon Shelomo, Me‘ullefet Sappirim, Qilorit la-Ayin, Zehav Seva, and a collection of homiletical sermons, Ahavat ‘Olam.

Israel Jacob ben Yom Ṭov Algazi, born in Izmir in 1680, was the grandson of Solomon Nissim Algazi the Elder. He was a member of the Keter Torah school of religious study (Heb. bet midrash) in Izmir and was respected for his piety. It is possible that he emigrated to the Land of Israel prior to 1730, for according to his own account, he found and brought back from there the handwritten text of Ḥemdat Yamim. He returned to Jerusalem in the mid-1730s, where he taught at the Neveh Shalom–Brit Avraham seminary (1735), and later joined the Bet-El circle of mystics (see also Bet El Kabbalists) called, rising to become their leader. In 1755 he was appointed Sephardic chief rabbi in Jerusalem (rishon le-ṣiyyon), but he died the following year (1756). He was the author of more than twenty books, including a collection of responsa: Emet le-Ya‘aqov, Ar‘a de-Rabbanan, Qehillat Ya‘aqov, Shalme Ṣibbur, Shalme Ḥagiga, and others. Other works remain in manuscript. His son, Yom Ṭov ben Israel Jacob Algazi, was born in Izmir in 1727, but moved with his family to Jerusalem. Known even in his youth as one of the foremost scholars in Jerusalem, he later traveled abroad as a rabbinical emissary (Heb. shadar or meshullaḥ). Like his father, he served as the head of the Neveh Shalom–Brit Avraham seminary and was a member of the kabbalist Bet-El seminary. Following the death of Shalom Shar‘abi (1727–1777) he was appointed head of the latter school. He became the rishon le-ṣiyyon as early as 1773 and continued in this post until his death in 1802. Among his books were Qedushat Yom Ṭov, Shevut Yom Ṭov, Yom Ṭov de-Rabbanan, and Hilkhot Yom Ṭov.

Isaac ben Abraham, the third son of Abraham Algazi the Elder, was born in 1625 on the island of Chios near Izmir. While still quite young he served in the rabbinate there and participated in the governance of the community. Having studied under Ḥayyim ben Israel Benveniste (1603–1673) in Izmir, he was appointed a head rabbi (rav kollel) of the city following the latter’s death in 1673, serving in this position until his own death ten years later in 1683. He wrote a book of responsa; also surviving is a book of homiletical sermons titled Doresh Ṭov.

Menaḥem ben Abraham Algazi, the grandson of Solomon Nissim, was a religious scholar in Izmir during the seventeenth century.

Ḥayyim ben Menaḥem Algazi (d. 1670) belonged to another branch of the family. He lived in Rhodes, but later (perhaps after the death or apostasy of his son) served as a rabbi in Izmir. His most notable book was the aforementioned Bane Ḥayye.

Ḥayyim ben Menaḥem Algazi (ca. 1640–1713) was a head rabbi (rav kollel) in Izmir at the start of the eighteenth century.

Yaron Ben Naeh

Bibliography

Ben Shim‘on, Mas‘ud (ed.). The Responsa of Our Rabbi Isaac Algazi, May the Memory of the Righteous Be for a Blessing, the Head of the Rabbis of Chios, Izmir: And Responsa That Were Replied to Him from His Teacher and Rabbi, the Great One of Israel, Our Rabbi Ḥayyim Benveniste, May the Memory of the Righteous Be for a Blessing (Jerusalem: Makhon Or ha-Mizraḥ, 1982), introduction [Hebrew].

The Book of Responsa of Our Teacher Rabbi Israel Algazi: Including Responsa and Rulings, Studies of Halakhah, and Carifications of the Four Parts of the Shulḥan ‘Arukh; The Pamphlet of Doubts: Including Sixteen Halakhah Doubts (Jerusalem: Meshivat Nefesh, 1976) [Hebrew].

Frumkin, Aryeh Loeb, and Eliezer Rivlin. History of the Rabbis of Jerusalem: From the Year 5250 from Creation to 5630 from Creation, vol. 3 (Jerusalem: Defus Salomon, 1929), pp. 108–111 [Hebrew].

Shpigel, Ya‘aqov Shemu’el. “The History of Rabbi Solomon Algazi, the Printing of His Books, and Related Matters,” ‘Aley Sefer 4 (June–July 1977), pp. 117–136 [Hebrew].

Cite this page

Yaron Ben Naeh. "Algazi family." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Brill Online, 2013. <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-...>

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The Algazis were a noted Turkish rabbinical family from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century. Their origins lay in the city of Bursa, near Istanbul. The family was founded by Abraham ben Moses Algazi the Elder (ca. 1560–ca. 1640), who lived in Bursa and was the son-in-law of Rabbi Joseph ben Moses Benveniste de Segovia. Abraham had three sons: Moses, Isaac, and Solomon Nissim. Little is known about Moses ben Abraham Algazi except that he mutilated himself in some way and emigrated to the Land of Israel in the mid-1630s. He returned to Bursa in his old age, and died there around 1671.

Solomon Nissim ben Abraham Algazi was born in Bursa around 1610 and was educated at yeshivot there and in Gallipoli. He lived in Istanbul in the early 1630s, but later moved between Izmir, Jerusalem, and Egypt. He may at some point have served as rabbi of the Qahal Qadosh Geveret (Señora Holy Congregation) in Izmir. He died in Jerusalem in 1684 or 1685. Several of Solomon Nissim’s sons reached the age of maturity: (1) Joseph (possibly the father of Moses); (2) Abraham (d. 1700); (3) Yom Ṭov (d. 1727); (4) Ḥayyim; and (5) Moses. Abraham’s wife was the daughter of Joseph ben Elijah Ḥazzan (Ḥazan; d. ca. 1694) and the sister of Ḥayyim ben Joseph Ḥazzan (d. 1712) from Izmir. Abraham’s son Yom Ṭov seems to have married another daughter of Ḥayyim Ḥazzan’s. One of Solomon Nissim’s daughters married Aaron ben Isaac Lapapa (ca. 1604–1667), the author of Bene Aharon, who served as a rabbi in Manisa and in Izmir; and another married Jacob ibn Na‘im, who was also a scholar in Izmir. In 1673, Solomon Nissim returned to Izmir to print his book there. With the aid of the Izmir community, he subsequently settled in Jerusalem (see the foreword to Bene Aharon), where he died in 1684 or 1685. His books include Gufe Halakhot, Halikhot Eli, Shema Shelomo, Ta’ava la-‘Enayyim, Appiryon Shelomo, Me‘ullefet Sappirim, Qilorit la-Ayin, Zehav Seva, and a collection of homiletical sermons, Ahavat ‘Olam.

Israel Jacob ben Yom Ṭov Algazi, born in Izmir in 1680, was the grandson of Solomon Nissim Algazi the Elder. He was a member of the Keter Torah school of religious study (Heb. bet midrash) in Izmir and was respected for his piety. It is possible that he emigrated to the Land of Israel prior to 1730, for according to his own account, he found and brought back from there the handwritten text of Ḥemdat Yamim. He returned to Jerusalem in the mid-1730s, where he taught at the Neveh Shalom–Brit Avraham seminary (1735), and later joined the Bet-El circle of mystics (see also Bet El Kabbalists) called, rising to become their leader. In 1755 he was appointed Sephardic chief rabbi in Jerusalem (rishon le-ṣiyyon), but he died the following year (1756). He was the author of more than twenty books, including a collection of responsa: Emet le-Ya‘aqov, Ar‘a de-Rabbanan, Qehillat Ya‘aqov, Shalme Ṣibbur, Shalme Ḥagiga, and others. Other works remain in manuscript. His son, Yom Ṭov ben Israel Jacob Algazi, was born in Izmir in 1727, but moved with his family to Jerusalem. Known even in his youth as one of the foremost scholars in Jerusalem, he later traveled abroad as a rabbinical emissary (Heb. shadar or meshullaḥ). Like his father, he served as the head of the Neveh Shalom–Brit Avraham seminary and was a member of the kabbalist Bet-El seminary. Following the death of Shalom Shar‘abi (1727–1777) he was appointed head of the latter school. He became the rishon le-ṣiyyon as early as 1773 and continued in this post until his death in 1802. Among his books were Qedushat Yom Ṭov, Shevut Yom Ṭov, Yom Ṭov de-Rabbanan, and Hilkhot Yom Ṭov.

Isaac ben Abraham, the third son of Abraham Algazi the Elder, was born in 1625 on the island of Chios near Izmir. While still quite young he served in the rabbinate there and participated in the governance of the community. Having studied under Ḥayyim ben Israel Benveniste (1603–1673) in Izmir, he was appointed a head rabbi (rav kollel) of the city following the latter’s death in 1673, serving in this position until his own death ten years later in 1683. He wrote a book of responsa; also surviving is a book of homiletical sermons titled Doresh Ṭov.

Menaḥem ben Abraham Algazi, the grandson of Solomon Nissim, was a religious scholar in Izmir during the seventeenth century.

Ḥayyim ben Menaḥem Algazi (d. 1670) belonged to another branch of the family. He lived in Rhodes, but later (perhaps after the death or apostasy of his son) served as a rabbi in Izmir. His most notable book was the aforementioned Bane Ḥayye.

Ḥayyim ben Menaḥem Algazi (ca. 1640–1713) was a head rabbi (rav kollel) in Izmir at the start of the eighteenth century.

Yaron Ben Naeh

Bibliography

Ben Shim‘on, Mas‘ud (ed.). The Responsa of Our Rabbi Isaac Algazi, May the Memory of the Righteous Be for a Blessing, the Head of the Rabbis of Chios, Izmir: And Responsa That Were Replied to Him from His Teacher and Rabbi, the Great One of Israel, Our Rabbi Ḥayyim Benveniste, May the Memory of the Righteous Be for a Blessing (Jerusalem: Makhon Or ha-Mizraḥ, 1982), introduction [Hebrew].

The Book of Responsa of Our Teacher Rabbi Israel Algazi: Including Responsa and Rulings, Studies of Halakhah, and Carifications of the Four Parts of the Shulḥan ‘Arukh; The Pamphlet of Doubts: Including Sixteen Halakhah Doubts (Jerusalem: Meshivat Nefesh, 1976) [Hebrew].

Frumkin, Aryeh Loeb, and Eliezer Rivlin. History of the Rabbis of Jerusalem: From the Year 5250 from Creation to 5630 from Creation, vol. 3 (Jerusalem: Defus Salomon, 1929), pp. 108–111 [Hebrew].

Shpigel, Ya‘aqov Shemu’el. “The History of Rabbi Solomon Algazi, the Printing of His Books, and Related Matters,” ‘Aley Sefer 4 (June–July 1977), pp. 117–136 [Hebrew].

Cite this page

Yaron Ben Naeh. "Algazi family." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Brill Online, 2013. <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-...>