Hizkiya Abraham ben Abraham HaLevi, Haham Başı of Ottoman Empire

In 1835, (Ḥezekiah) Abraham ha-Levi (d. 1836) became the first chief rabbi (haham başı) of the Ottoman Empire, after a hiatus of nearly three hundred years since the death of Elijah ben Abraham Mizraḥi (1450/1454–1525/1527). The deed of appointment (berat) gave the new haham başı greater powers than previous chief rabbis. Shaw outlined his functions as threefold: (1) representing the Jewish community to the Ottoman government and ensuring the collection of taxes and rule of law among his followers; (2) administrative leadership of the Jewish community throughout the Ottoman realms; and (3) religious leadership with authority over the rabbis in the various cities and provinces of the empire. Ha-Levi’s tenure did not last long; on October 19, 1836, the official gazette Takvim-i Vekayi announced his death and the succession of Samuel (Shemuel) ben Moses Ḥayyim (ca. 1760–ca. 1842). Moses (Moshe) Levi or ha-Levi (Bursa, ca. 1827–Istanbul, 1910) was a later successor of Abraham ha-Levi, filling the role of locum tenens chief rabbi (haham başı kaymakamı) for the Ottoman Empire from 1872 until mid-1908.

D Gershon Lewental

Bibliography

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Cite this page

D Gershon Lewental. "Levi (Le-Vet Ha-Levi) Family, Salonica." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Brill Online, 2013. <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-...>