Elijah ben Elkanah Capsali (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: אליהו בן אלקנה קפשאלי; – after 1550) was a notable rabbi and historian.

Biography

Born in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, into a distinguished Romaniote family, the Capsalis had served as heads of the Jewish community on several occasions and distinguished themselves in the study of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

and

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

. His father Elkanah Capsali, served as the head of the Cretan Jewish community, and taught Elijah in his early years. In 1508 Elijah went to

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, to study in the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

h of

Judah Minz Judah ben Eliezer ha-Levi Minz (c. 1405 – 1508), also known as Mahari Minz, was the most prominent Italian rabbi of his time. As his surname suggests, he immigrated around 1462 from Mainz to Italy. He officiated as rabbi of Padua for forty-seven ...

, who soon died after Capsali's arrival. Although, his studies were interrupted by the occupation of Padua by German troops in 1509, after which he moved to Venice. In 1510 Capsali returned to Crete, were he studied under Isaac Mangelheim. In he became the Chief Rabbi of Crete, during which he associated himself with several great scholars of his time such as,

Jacob Berab Jacob Berab ( he, יעקב בירב), also spelled Berav or Bei-Rav, (1474 – April 3, 1546), was an influential rabbi and talmudist best known for his attempt to reintroduce classical semikhah (ordination). Biography Berab was born at Maqueda ...

and

Joseph Karo Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, also spelled Yosef Caro, or Qaro ( he, יוסף קארו; 1488 – March 24, 1575, 13 Nisan 5335 Anno mundi, A.M.), was the author of the last great codification of Jewish law, the ''Beit Yosef (book), Beit Yosef'', and it ...

. Additionally he wrote several notable historical works, which were praised for their vivid and detailed descriptions of Ottoman Jewry, many of which provide interregnal accounts used by modern historians.

Works

Some of his most famous works are as follows: * ''Seder Eliyahu Zuta'' - a short history of the Ottoman Empire up to his lifetime, with special reference to the Jews. * ''Divrei ha-Yamim le-Malkhut Venezia'' - a contemporary account of Venice and the condition of Venetian Jews. * ''No'am Ḥoblim'' - a contemporary account of the ongoings and lives of the great rabbis of his lifetime.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capsali, Elijah Chief rabbis of the Ottoman Empire Romaniote Jews 1485 births 1550 deaths 16th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Jews from the Ottoman Empire Rabbis from Crete