Raphael Berdugo ( he, רפאל בירדוגו;

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...

in 1747 – 1821), a son of

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 ...

Mordecai Berdugo, was a dayan, a

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

, and an influential Moroccan rabbi.Avioz, Michael, "R. Raphael Berdugo's Method of Reconciling Contradictions in the Bible", in: ''Review of Rabbinic Judaism'', Volume 9, Number 1, Brill, 2006 , pp. 114-125(12) Berdugo was respected by his contemporaries, and his decisions continue to be a source of inspiration to Moroccan rabbis. His peers saw him as an excellent speaker with a great natural authority, who did not shirk from conflict with the notables, pointing out for example their inconsideration for

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 ...

students. He did not limit himself to his role as a dayan (judge), but was a community activist. Berdugo made the shohatim abandon their old customs and follow the Castilian customs. He also introduced reforms in the laws of

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...

, for example the inheritance of a husband and children in case of the death of a wife.Saul I. Aranov, ''A descriptive catalogue of the Bension collection of Sephardic manuscripts and texts'', University of Alberta, 1979, p.33 Berdugo had a number of adversaries. One of them was Rabbi Baruch Toledano. Their controversies were quite heated and have remained famous. Berdugo is listed as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

in ''Culte des Saints et Pélerinages Judéo-Musulmans au Maroc, and'' Rabbi Raphael married a daughter of the Mashbir and had four sons.

Publications

List of publications by Raphael Berdugo, some unpublished, and some published by Rabbi

Chalom Messas Shalom Messas (Hebrew: שלום משאש) was a Sephardic rabbi and scholar who served as Chief Rabbi of Morocco, and later as Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. Biography Messas was born in Meknes, Morocco in 1909. He was the son of Rabbi Mimoun Messa ...

: * ''Torot Emet'' - on the four sections of Shulhan Aruch (Meknes 1939
- HebrewBooks.org
* ''Me Menouhot'' - homiletics on the Pentateuch, in two volumes (Jerusalem 1905
- HebrewBooks.org (I)HebrewBooks.org (II)
* ''Rav Peninim'' * ''Messamehe Lev'' * ''Mishpatim Yesharim'' - responsa, in two volumes (Kraków 1891)
HebrewBooks.org
* ''Sharvit Ha'Zahav'' - novellae on various Talmudic tractates, in two volumes (Jerusalem 1975)
HebrewBooks.org (II)

References

External links

Family tree for ancestors and descendants
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berdugo, Raphael 1747 births 1821 deaths 18th-century Moroccan rabbis Moroccan writers People from Meknes 19th-century Moroccan rabbis

Publications

See also

References

External links