Samuel Palache, Hakham

Rabbi Samuel Palache grew up in Morocco but ended up in Amsterdam in 1610. He proposed that the Prince of Orange and the Sultan of Morocco get together.

Rabbi Samuel Palache and his brother, Joseph, who went from commanding pirate ships to founding the first openly Jewish community in the New World - Amsterdam. This resulted in Jews being allowed to settle in Amsterdam (!)

In 1614, he went on an expedition, captured a couple of Spanish ships, got to Plymouth, and was subsequently arrested for piracy.

In Madrid, the Inquisition probably suspected them of inciting the Marranos to leave the country and return to Judaism. To escape prosecution, they took asylum in the house of the French ambassador, and offered their services to King Henry IV; they left Spain a short while later. According to some historians, Samuel was the first Jew to settle in the Netherlands as a declared Jew. He was responsible for obtaining the authorization for his coreligionists to settle. He gathered the first minyan in Amsterdam at his home for Day of Atonement prayers in 1596. Palache is also said to have built the first synagogue in that country. According to documents in the Netherlands archives, the right to settle in the country was refused to him, and during the same year, 1608, he was appointed ambassador to The Hague by the Moroccan sultan Mulay Zīdān.

In 1610 he successfully negotiated the first treaty of alliance between a Christian state (the Netherlands), and a Muslim state (Morocco). In 1614 he personally assumed the command of a small Moroccan fleet which seized some ships belonging to the king of Spain, with whom Morocco was at war. The Spanish ambassador, who was very influential in London, had him arrested when he was in England. He accused him of piracy; reverberations of his trial were widespread. Once acquitted, he returned to the Netherlands. When he died in The Hague, Palache was given an imposing funeral attended by Prince Maurice of Nassau. Samuel Palache's two sons, Isaac and Jacob-Carlos, also engaged in diplomatic work. The former was entrusted with Dutch interests in Morocco from 1624, and the latter represented the sultan in Copenhagen. Samuel's brother, Joseph Palache (d. after 1638), succeeded him in his diplomatic position. Joseph Palache's five sons held very important offices. One of them, Isaac Palache (d. 1647) was known as "the lame." His variegated career included a mission to the Ottoman sultan (1614–1), important negotiations in Danzig (1618–19), a professorship in Hebrew at the University of Leiden, and missions to Morocco and Algiers in 1624 on behalf of the Dutch. In 1639 he was called upon to redeem the Christian captives who were held by the famous marabout of Tazerwalt. He became involved in a violent conflict with his brothers over succession rights and converted to Christianity. Another son, Moses Palache (d. after 1650), was secretary to his uncle Samuel at the French court, interpreter and secretary to the sultan of Morocco, and the de facto – but not official – foreign minister of four successive Moroccan sovereigns; his name was cited by Manasseh Ben Israel to Oliver Cromwell as an example of the loyalty of the Jews when he sought authorization for them to settle in England.

There is no doubt among them, and no fear, and no thought that they might not be victorious. For do they not sail with Reb Palache, the man who consults with angels every night? Do they not bear good steel made in best Damascene fashion, and have they not always triumphed before? And this is just one ship, one lonely ship against which they will strike with a sword of wrath and fire.

The titular hero of Richard Dansky’s “The Thirty-Ninth Labor of Reb Palache” is a Rabbi, and a pirate. To quote the story, “He is a trader and a teacher, a sailor and a spy, a diplomat and a pirate of bloody intent, an exile and a man who has prospered in a new land.” And he’s a man about to face a rival ship, bristling with cannon. Richard pitched two stories to me for this project. The other one seemed great but I forget what it was, because this one was about a pirate rabbi, and that’s where I said “sold.” And then the piece came in, written in a stunning epic voice, rolling with the rhythm of the sea. The juxtaposition between holy man and buccaneer, which you might expect to be presented in a joking manner, instead acquires a mystical grandeur.

http://www.totallyjewish.com/entertainment/features_and_reviews/?co...

GEDCOM Note

PALACHE (Pallache, Palacio, de Palatio, al-Palas, Pallas, Palaggi, Balyash, etc.), family whose name first occurs in Spain as Palyāj. The historian Ibn Dā'ūd relates (in his Sefer ha-Qabbalah, ed. by G.D. Cohen (1967), 66, no. 64 Eng. sect.), "R. Moses the Rabbi (one of the *Four Captives) allied himself by marriage with the Ibn Falija (Palyāj) family, which was the greatest of the families of the community of Córdoba, and took from them a wife for his son R. *Ḥanokh." Moses al-Palas (b. c. 1535), an outstanding rabbi and orator, was born in *Marrakesh. He later lived in *Tetuán, where his sermons attracted large audiences, including many former Marranos. When he returned to Marrakesh, he delivered a lengthy discourse on the ethics of the Jewish religion - at the request and in the presence of the Spanish ambassador. This success encouraged him to undertake a journey through the countries inhabited by the descendants of the victims of the Spanish Expulsion in order to preach to them. He visited the Balkans, Turkey, and Palestine and lived in Salonika for a time. He appears to have finally settled in Venice, where he published Va-Yakhel Moshe (1597) and Ho'il Moshe (1597), which includes homilies, eulogies, and sermons, as well as a biography of the author. R. Isaac Palache was a distinguished rabbi in *Fez in about 1560. He had two sons, Samuel Palache (d. 1616) and Joseph (see below). They and their children held an important place in the economic life of that period and from the beginning of the 17th century became active at the courts of Europe, particularly the Netherlands which maintained relations with Morocco. In Madrid, the Inquisition probably suspected them of inciting the Marranos to leave the country and return to Judaism. To escape prosecution, they took asylum in the house of the French ambassador, and offered their services to King Henry IV; they left Spain a short while later. According to some historians, Samuel was the first Jew to settle in the Netherlands as a declared Jew. He was responsible for obtaining the authorization for his coreligionists to settle. He gathered the first minyan in Amsterdam at his home for Day of Atonement prayers in 1596. Palache is also said to have built the first synagogue in that country. According to documents in the Netherlands archives, the right to settle in the country was refused to him, and during the same year, 1608, he was appointed ambassador to The Hague by the Moroccan sultan Mulay Zīdān. In 1610 he successfully negotiated the first treaty of alliance between a Christian state (the Netherlands), and a Muslim state (Morocco). In 1614 he personally assumed the command of a small Moroccan fleet which seized some ships belonging to the king of Spain, with whom Morocco was at war. The Spanish ambassador, who was very influential in London, had him arrested when he was in England. He accused him of piracy; reverberations of his trial were widespread. Once acquitted, he returned to the Netherlands. When he died in The Hague, Palache was given an imposing funeral attended by Prince Maurice of Nassau. Samuel Palache's two sons, Isaac and Jacob-Carlos, also engaged in diplomatic work. The former was entrusted with Dutch interests in Morocco from 1624, and the latter represented the sultan in Copenhagen. Samuel's brother, Joseph Palache (d. after 1638), succeeded him in his diplomatic position. Joseph Palache's five sons held very important offices. One of them, Isaac Palache (d. 1647) was known as "the lame." His variegated career included a mission to the Ottoman sultan (1614-1), important negotiations in Danzig (1618-19), a professorship in Hebrew at the University of Leiden, and missions to Morocco and Algiers in 1624 on behalf of the Dutch. In 1639 he was called upon to redeem the Christian captives who were held by the famous marabout of Tazerwalt. He became involved in a violent conflict with his brothers over succession rights and converted to Christianity. Another son, Moses Palache (d. after 1650), was secretary to his uncle Samuel at the French court, interpreter and secretary to the sultan of Morocco, and the de facto - but not official - foreign minister of four successive Moroccan sovereigns; his name was cited by Manasseh Ben Israel to Oliver Cromwell as an example of the loyalty of the Jews when he sought authorization for them to settle in England. Joshua Palache (d. after 1650) and his son Samuel Palache were merchants of international status and tax farmers of the leading Moroccan port, Safi. David Palache (d. 1649), another of Joseph's sons, was a diplomat. Entrusted with a mission to Louis XIII of France, various accusations were brought against him. His innocence was finally proven and he reassumed his position as Moroccan ambassador to the Netherlands. Abraham Palache (d. after 1630) was a financier in Morocco and diplomat. The descendants of the main branch of the Palache family lived in Amsterdam, where Isaac Palache was elected chief rabbi in 1900. His son Judah Lion *Palache was professor of Semitic languages at the University of Amsterdam and died in an extermination camp during the Holocaust. Another branch lived in Izmir, where Ḥayyim *Palache and his son Abraham Palache were noted rabbis in the 19th century.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: SIHM, ser. 1, index vol. S.V. Pallache; H.I. Bloom, The Economic Activities of the Jews in Amsterdam (1937, repr. 1969), 75-82; D. Corcos, in: Zion, 25 (1960), 122-33; J. Caillé, in: Hespéris-Tamuda, 4 (1963), 5-67; Hirschberg, Afrikah, 2 (1965), 228-42.

Rabbi Samuel Palache grew up in Morocco but ended up in Amsterdam in 1610. He proposed that the Prince of Orange and the Sultan of Morocco get together.

Rabbi Samuel Palache and his brother, Joseph, who went from commanding pirate ships to founding the first openly Jewish community in the New World - Amsterdam. This resulted in Jews being allowed to settle in Amsterdam (!)

In 1614, he went on an expedition, captured a couple of Spanish ships, got to Plymouth, and was subsequently arrested for piracy.

In Madrid, the Inquisition probably suspected them of inciting the Marranos to leave the country and return to Judaism. To escape prosecution, they took asylum in the house of the French ambassador, and offered their services to King Henry IV; they left Spain a short while later. According to some historians, Samuel was the first Jew to settle in the Netherlands as a declared Jew. He was responsible for obtaining the authorization for his coreligionists to settle. He gathered the first minyan in Amsterdam at his home for Day of Atonement prayers in 1596. Palache is also said to have built the first synagogue in that country. According to documents in the Netherlands archives, the right to settle in the country was refused to him, and during the same year, 1608, he was appointed ambassador to The Hague by the Moroccan sultan Mulay Zīdān.

In 1610 he successfully negotiated the first treaty of alliance between a Christian state (the Netherlands), and a Muslim state (Morocco). In 1614 he personally assumed the command of a small Moroccan fleet which seized some ships belonging to the king of Spain, with whom Morocco was at war. The Spanish ambassador, who was very influential in London, had him arrested when he was in England. He accused him of piracy; reverberations of his trial were widespread. Once acquitted, he returned to the Netherlands. When he died in The Hague, Palache was given an imposing funeral attended by Prince Maurice of Nassau. Samuel Palache's two sons, Isaac and Jacob-Carlos, also engaged in diplomatic work. The former was entrusted with Dutch interests in Morocco from 1624, and the latter represented the sultan in Copenhagen. Samuel's brother, Joseph Palache (d. after 1638), succeeded him in his diplomatic position. Joseph Palache's five sons held very important offices. One of them, Isaac Palache (d. 1647) was known as "the lame." His variegated career included a mission to the Ottoman sultan (1614–1), important negotiations in Danzig (1618–19), a professorship in Hebrew at the University of Leiden, and missions to Morocco and Algiers in 1624 on behalf of the Dutch. In 1639 he was called upon to redeem the Christian captives who were held by the famous marabout of Tazerwalt. He became involved in a violent conflict with his brothers over succession rights and converted to Christianity. Another son, Moses Palache (d. after 1650), was secretary to his uncle Samuel at the French court, interpreter and secretary to the sultan of Morocco, and the de facto – but not official – foreign minister of four successive Moroccan sovereigns; his name was cited by Manasseh Ben Israel to Oliver Cromwell as an example of the loyalty of the Jews when he sought authorization for them to settle in England.

There is no doubt among them, and no fear, and no thought that they might not be victorious. For do they not sail with Reb Palache, the man who consults with angels every night? Do they not bear good steel made in best Damascene fashion, and have they not always triumphed before? And this is just one ship, one lonely ship against which they will strike with a sword of wrath and fire.

Reb Palache, the Rabbi Pirate, features in “The Thirty-Ninth Labor of Reb Palache” by Richard Dansky, published in The New Hero Volume 1.

The titular hero of Richard Dansky’s “The Thirty-Ninth Labor of Reb Palache” is a Rabbi, and a pirate. To quote the story, “He is a trader and a teacher, a sailor and a spy, a diplomat and a pirate of bloody intent, an exile and a man who has prospered in a new land.” And he’s a man about to face a rival ship, bristling with cannon. Richard pitched two stories to me for this project. The other one seemed great but I forget what it was, because this one was about a pirate rabbi, and that’s where I said “sold.” And then the piece came in, written in a stunning epic voice, rolling with the rhythm of the sea. The juxtaposition between holy man and buccaneer, which you might expect to be presented in a joking manner, instead acquires a mystical grandeur.

http://www.totallyjewish.com/entertainment/features_and_reviews/?co...

דון שמואל פאלאג'י, רב מוסמך ואדם משכיל, צאצא למגורשי ספרד שהתיישבו במרוקו, ייסד בסוף המאה ה-16 את צי הקורסארים של הסולטנות.

בספינת הדגל שלו היה בית-כנסת זעיר. למרות עיסוקו האלים, הקפיד פאלאג'י על קלה כחמורה ונהג לומר תדיר כי הוא אינו מתפרנס מעיסוקו בשוד עוברי הימים. מייחסים לו גם המשפט הבא: "אני נכנס חגור חרב אפילו לבית-הכנסת, כי נדרתי נדר: לא אניח את חרבי זו מידי עד אשפיל את מלכות ספרד הרשעה ואדרוס את גאוותה. כה ייתן לי ה' וכה יוסיף".

הרב דון שמואל פאלאג'י פעל במרוקו ובתוניס. בין השנים 1609 ל-1616 היה שגריר של שריף מרוקו באמסטרדם. פאלאג'י פעל שם מתוך כוונה לגרום נזק ואובדן לכל אינטרס ספרדי ולנקום כך בפשעי האינקוויזיציה נגד אבותיו ונגד בני עמו. הוא עשה ככל שביכולתו כדי לגבש ברית בין אומות מוסלמיות ונוצריות נגד הכתר הספרדי.

כרב-חובל פיליבאסטר, הוא הרבה לתקוף ערים ספרדיות ובספינות הפיראטים בהם ניהל את התקפותיו, היה נוהג להבריח יהודים אנוסים לחופי מבטחים. הוא לחם נגד ספינות ספרדיות שחזרו עם סחורות מדרום-אמריקה ושטו מול חופי מרוקו. פאלאג'י נהג להחרים את הסחורות ולהביאן להולנד. פעם אחת נקלעה ספינתו לסערה וביקש מקלט בנמל האנגלי פליימות'. שגריר ספרד בלונדון מיהר להאשימו בשוד ימי. אף שהיה בידו כתב חסות ממלך אנגליה, הצליח השגריר להביא למעצרו. אך בית-המשפט הבריטי הכיר בו כפריבטייר ושילח אותו לחופשי.

לאחר מכן הוא שב לאמסטרדם אך חולה כבר במחלה ממארת וב-5 בפברואר 1616 הלך לעולמו. מאות אבלים נטלו חלק בלוויתו, כולל נסיך בית המלוכה ההולנדי שהיה ידידו האישי. תהלוכה מפוארת עם סוסים ומרכבות ודגלים, העבירה את גופתו אל בית-העלמין באאודרקר שבאמסטרדם. שם, תחת מצבה עליה חקוק המשפט "הנושא טוב עם אלוקים ואדם", טמונים שרידיו עד עצם היום הזה.

אחיו יוסף ירש אותו ועד 1636 עמד בעצמו בראש צי של קורסארים ממרוקו.