Solomon David Sassoon (1915–1985) was an educator,
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 ...
,
philanthropist, fundraiser, and collector of Jewish manuscripts.
Biography
Early life
Solomon David Sassoon was born in August 1915 in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
[William D. Rubinstein, ''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p. 86]
/ref> He is a member of the wealthy Sassoon family
The Sassoon family, known as "Rothschilds of the East" due to the immense wealth they accumulated in finance and trade, are a family of Baghdadi Jewish descent. Originally based in Baghdad, Iraq, they later moved to Bombay, India, and then emigr ...
.David Solomon Sassoon
David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942) (also known as "David Suleiman Sassoon"), was a bibliophile and grandson of 19th Baghdadi Jewish community leader David Sassoon (treasurer), David Sassoon.
Sassoon travelled extensively with the sole intent o ...
(1880–1942), the renowned collector of Hebrew manuscripts from Baghdad.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 ce ...
by Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler
Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1892 – 31 December 1953) was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and Jewish philosopher of the 20th century. He is best known for being the ''mashgiach ruchani'' ("spiritual counselor") of the Ponevezh yeshiva in I ...
.
Career
He made original contributions to linguistic analysis, philosophy, physiology and Biblical criticism. In 1953 and again in 1964, he declined requests to put his name forward as a candidate for the position of Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Co ...
. His varied interests and literary output were maintained until his death.
Death and legacy
Solomon David Sassoon built a library in Letchworth, England, to house his father's collections of Jewish manuscripts and incunabula. Some of these holdings were later auctioned by Sotheby's of London in Zurich and in New York, between the years 1975 - 1994, in order to satisfy the Sassoon estate's British tax obligations.David Sassoon - The Bibliophile of Bombay
/ref> Today, what remains of this priceless collection has been transferred to University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
, in Canada. He died in May 1985. His son, Isaac S.D. Sassoon, is also a rabbi.
Bibliography
*''Reality Revisited: A New Look at Computers and Minds, Physics and Evolution'', Feldheim; 2nd Revised edition (1991),
*''Natan Hokhma liShlomo: A Collection of Torah Commentary, Essays on the Talmud and Assorted Philosophical Writings (1989)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sassoon, Solomon David
English religious writers
Bibliophiles
Sassoon family
Sephardi rabbis
British Orthodox rabbis
1915 births
1985 deaths
British people of Indian-Jewish descent
Baghdadi Jews
British writers of Indian descent