David Pardo was an 18th-century

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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 liturgical poet who lived for some time in

Sarajevo, Bosnia Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

and in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Heschel, AJ. Heavenly Torah as Refracted Through the Generations (translated and commentary by

Gordon Tucker Gordon Tucker is a prominent rabbi, with a reputation as both a political and a theological liberal in Conservative Judaism. He is the former senior rabbi of Temple Israel Center in White Plains, New York. Since September 2020, he has served a ...

, 2007
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: ''Miktam le-Dawid'', part i., pp. 1, 207; part ii., Nos. 2, 10, 12, 21, 31; part iii., Nos. 2, 5; part iv., p. 207; ''Maskil le-Dawid'', Preface; ''Shoshannim le-Dawid'', Preface; ''Shif'at Rebibim'', title-page. Among other things, he authored a commentary on the

Sifra Sifra (Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is the Halakhic midrash to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim", a ...

on Leviticus and '' Maskil le-David'' (Venice, 1760), a super-commentary on

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

on 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 ...

. Pardo was born in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

on 29 March 1719 and died in Jerusalem in 1792. He was the son of Jacob Pardo of

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

, rabbi of Venice. After finishing his studies, Pardo left Venice and went to Ragusa. He then lived for some years in Sarajevo, where he devoted himself to teaching. From Sarajevo he went to

Spalato )'' , settlement_type = City , anthem = ''Marjane, Marjane'' , image_skyline = , imagesize = 267px , image_caption = Top: Nighttime view of Split from Mosor; 2nd row: Cathedral ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

, where Rabbi Abraham David Papo engaged him as teacher at the ''

yeshivah 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 stud ...

''. After the death of Papo's successor, Isaac Tzedakah, Pardo was elected chief rabbi of the city. Among his disciples were Shabbethai Ventura, David Pinto, and Abraham Curiel. In 1752 Pardo began to publish, his first work being ''Shoshannim le-David'' (Venice, 1752), a commentary on the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

. In 1764 Pardo accepted the position of

chief rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

at Sarajevo, where he succeeded Joshua Isaac Machoro. He employed his leisure time in writing and publishing various works. Toward the end of his life he went to Jerusalem, where he died. Besides the above-mentioned works, Pardo wrote the following works: ''Miktam le-David'' (

Salonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, 1769),

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

; ''Chasde David'' (part i., Leghorn, 1776; part ii., ib. 1790), commentary on the

Tosefta The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...

; ''Chukkat ha-Pesach'' (Leghorn, 1796), a ritual for the

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

season; and ''La-Menatzeach le-David'' (Salonica, 1795),

novellae In Roman law, a novel ( la, novella constitutio, "new decree"; gr, νεαρά, neara) is a new decree or edict, in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publi ...

on various

Talmudic 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 ...

topics. Among his

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

works are the following: ''Sekiyyot ha-Chemdah'' (Salonica, 1756; often reprinted), ritual for the first day of

Nisan Nisan (or Nissan; he, נִיסָן, Standard ''Nīsan'', Tiberian ''Nīsān''; from akk, 𒊬𒊒𒄀 ''Nisanu'') in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is ...

; ''Shirah Chadashah'' (

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, 1776 , the history of

Esther Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...

in verse; ''Mizmor le-David'' (Leghorn, 1818), notes on ''

Shulchan 'Aruk The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various Codification (law), legal codes in Judaism. It was authored i ...

'', ''

Yoreh De'ah Yoreh De'ah ( he, יורה דעה) is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), Arba'ah Turim around 1300. This section treats all aspects of Jewish law not pertinent to the Hebrew calendar, finance, torts, marriage, ...

''; ''Shif'at Rebibim'' (Leghorn, 1788, and often reprinted), prayers for holy days, with a poetical presentation of the Temple service on the

Day of Atonement Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's o ...

and other ''

piyyutim A ''piyyut'' or ''piyut'' (plural piyyutim or piyutim, he, פִּיּוּטִים / פיוטים, פִּיּוּט / פיוט ; from Greek ποιητής ''poiētḗs'' "poet") is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, ch ...

'', published by his disciple Elisha Chabillo, called also "Mercado." Notes of Pardo's on the Talmud are found in the

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

edition of 1860-72, and on Alfasi in the Wilna edition of 1881-86. The library of the Jewish community at

Rustchuk Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

owns a ''Miktam le-David'' bearing the author's signature. Pardo married a young woman of Spalato, who aided him in literary labors. She bore him three sons, named Jacob,

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

, and Abraham, and one daughter. The last-named married Abraham Penso, author of the ''Appe Zutre'' (Salonica, 1798). Abraham Pardo married a daughter of the bibliographer Rabbi Hayyim Joseph David Azulai. Isaac succeeded him as rabbi of Sarajevo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pardo, David 1719 births 1792 deaths Chief rabbis of cities 18th-century Republic of Venice rabbis Jewish poets Italian Sephardi Jews 18th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Rabbis from Sarajevo