Isaac ben Moses Abulafia (1824-1910) was a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and

halakhist ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

. Abulafia, who was born in

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...

, was rabbi of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

from c. 1877. His authoritarian attitude and his habit of making independent halakhic decisions roused the opposition of the other rabbis and of the communal leaders of Damascus, who united in an attempt to remove him from his position. In 1896 they turned to Moses ha-Levi, the

Hakham Bashi ''Haham Bashi'' (chachampasēs) which is explained as "μεγάλος ραβίνος" or "Grand Rabbi". * Persian: khākhāmbāšīgarī is used in the Persian version of the Ottoman Constitution of 1876. Strauss stated that there was a possibili ...

, in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, who acceded to their request by appointing

Solomon Eliezer Alfandari Solomon Eliezer Alfandari ( he, שלמה אליעזר אלפנדרי) ( 1826 – 22 Iyar 1930), also known as the Saba Kadisha ("Holy Grandfather"), was a distinguished rabbi, kabbalist and rosh yeshiva in his native home of Constantinople, and ...

rabbi of Damascus. The two rabbis did not at first cooperate with each other. Later, however, Alfandari brought Abulafia into the sphere of his activities. Toward the end of his life Abulafia acted as rabbi in Tyre. From there he moved to Jerusalem, and finally to Tiberias, where he died. An outstanding halakhic scholar, his responsa ''Penei Yizhak'' were published in six volumes (1871-1906). Some scholars, especially Shalom Hai Gagin of Jerusalem, were critical of the first volume, and Abulafia wrote ''Lev Nishbar'' (1878) in reply to his critics.

Links to published works

Pene Yitzhaq vol. 1Pene Yitzhaq vol. 2Pene Yitzhaq vol. 3Pene Yitzhaq vol. 4Pene Yitzhaq vol. 5Pene Yitzhaq vol. 6
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abulafia, Isaac ben Moses 19th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire 1824 births 1910 deaths Chief rabbis of cities Rabbis in Ottoman Syria People from Tiberias