Nathan Adadi ( he, נתן אדאדי, 1740-1818) was a
Sephardi
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
Hakham
''Hakham'' (or ''chakam(i), haham(i), hacham(i)''; he, חכם ', "wise") is a term in Judaism, meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a great Torah scholar. It can also refer to any cultured and learned person: "He ...
,
Torah scholar, and
kabbalist in the Jewish community of
Tripoli, Libya
Tripoli (; ar, طرابلس الغرب, translit= Ṭarābulus al-Gharb , translation=Western Tripoli) is the capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.1 million people in 2019. It is located in the northwest of Libya o ...
. He was one of the leaders of the Tripoli Jewish community for some 50 years.
Early life and family
Nathan Adadi was born in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
. Little is known about his early life. He served as a ''
shadar
A ''meshulach'' (; plural: ''meshulachim''), also known as a ''shaliach'' () or SHaDaR (, acronym for ), was an emissary sent to the Diaspora to raise funds ('' ḥalukka'') for the Jewish communities of the Land of Israel. In recent times, the te ...
'' and was dispatched to the Jewish community in
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, Italy, to collect funds for the Jews of Palestine. Afterwards he traveled to Tripoli, where he became a prominent student of
Mas'ud Hai Rakkah
Masoud (; ) is a given name and surname, with origins in Persian and Arabic. The name is found in the Arab world, Iran, Turkey, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Russia, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and China. Masoud has spelling vari ...
, one of the leading rabbis of Libyan Jewry in the 18th century. Rakkaḥ chose Adadi as a son-in-law, and Adadi and his wife had one son, Mas'ud Hai Adadi.
Together with Hakhamim Shalom Plus and Moshe Lachmish, Adadi led the Tripoli Jewish community after Rakkaḥ's death in 1768. Among Adadi's students was Rabbi Yehuda Lavie, a leading rabbi and kabbalist in Tripoli in the 19th century.
In 1802 Adadi was appointed to the Tripoli ''
beit din'' (rabbinical court), but served only for a few days. According to his grandson,
Abraham Hayyim Adadi
Abraham Hayyim Adadi ( he, אברהם חיים אדאדי, 1801 – June 13, 1874) was a Sephardi Jews, Sephardi Hakham, ''Beth din#Officers of a beth din, dayan'' (rabbinical court judge), ''Beth din#Officers of a beth din, av beit din'' (hea ...
, he "resigned voluntarily because he was a zealot, favoring no man, however rich or prominent".
Later years and death
Adadi's son and daughter-in-law died at a young age, leaving one young son,
Abraham Hayyim Adadi
Abraham Hayyim Adadi ( he, אברהם חיים אדאדי, 1801 – June 13, 1874) was a Sephardi Jews, Sephardi Hakham, ''Beth din#Officers of a beth din, dayan'' (rabbinical court judge), ''Beth din#Officers of a beth din, av beit din'' (hea ...
(1801-1874). Adadi took the boy into his care and was his primary Torah teacher.
In 1818, Adadi decided to return to Palestine, and his 18-year-old grandson accompanied him. Later that same year, Adadi died in Safed.
[
]
Works
Adadi authored numerous works on the '' Shulchan Aruch'', '' Yoreh De'ah'', and '' Mishnah'',[ including the '']sefarim
''Sifrei Kodesh'' ( he, ספרי קודש, , Holy books), commonly referred to as ''sefarim'' ( he, ספרים, , books), or in its singular form, ''sefer'', are books of Jewish religious literature and are viewed by religious Jews as sacred. T ...
'' ''Me'orei Natan'' and ''Chok Natan'',
Rakkah-Adadi family tree
References
Notes
Sources
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Adadi, Nathan
18th-century Sephardi Jews
19th-century Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews from Ottoman Palestine
Libyan rabbis
1740 births
1818 deaths
Shelichei derabonan (rabbis)