Nathan Adadi
Nathan Adadi (Hebrew: נתן אדאדי, 1740-1818) was a Sephardi Hakham, Torah scholar, and kabbalist in the Jewish community of Tripoli, Libya. He was one of the leaders of the Tripoli Jewish community for some 50 years.
Nathan Adadi | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Born | Nathan Adadi 1740 |
| Died | 1818 (aged 77–78) |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Children | Mas'ud Hai Adadi |
| Yahrtzeit | 18 Elul 5578 |
| Buried | Safed, Palestine |
Early life and family
Nathan Adadi was born in Palestine.[1] Little is known about his early life. He served as a shadar and was dispatched to the Jewish community in Livorno, Italy, to collect funds for the Jews of Palestine.[1] Afterwards he traveled to Tripoli, where he became a prominent student of Mas'ud Hai Rakkah,[1] one of the leading rabbis of Libyan Jewry in the 18th century.[2] Rakkaḥ chose Adadi as a son-in-law,[3] 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.[3] Among Adadi's students was Rabbi Yehuda Lavie, a leading rabbi and kabbalist in Tripoli in the 19th century.[4] 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, he "resigned voluntarily because he was a zealot, favoring no man, however rich or prominent".[1]
Later years and death
Adadi's son and daughter-in-law died at a young age, leaving one young son, Abraham Hayyim Adadi (1801-1874). Adadi took the boy into his care and was his primary Torah teacher.[5]
In 1818, Adadi decided to return to Palestine, and his 18-year-old grandson accompanied him. Later that same year, Adadi died in Safed.[5]
Works
Adadi authored numerous works on the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah, and Mishnah,[6] including the sefarim Me'orei Natan and Chok Natan,[7] but his writings were not published and were subsequently lost.[6]
Adadi began preparing for publication the second volume of his father-in-law's major work, Ma'aseh Rokeaḥ, a commentary on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, from handwritten manuscripts, but did not complete the task. His grandson, Abraham Hayyim Adadi, eventually completed the volume and published it in Livorno in 1862.[3]
Rakkah-Adadi family tree
| Aharon Rakkah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mas'ud Hai Rakkah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yitzhak Rakkah | Nathan Adadi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baruh Rakkah | Mas'ud Hai Adadi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shilomo Rakkah | Abraham Hayyim Adadi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacob Rakkah | Zion Rakkah | Saul Adadi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abraham Rakkah | Meir Rakkah | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
Notes
- Hirschberg 1981, p. 179.
- Hallamish, Moshe (2001). הקבלה בצפון אפריקה למן המאה הט"ז : סקירה היסטורית ותרבותית [The Kabbalah in North Africa: A Historical and Cultural Survey] (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameyuchad. p. 78.
- Nissim 1964, p. 5.
- Hagigi-Lulaf, Yaakov (3 December 2009). "ר' יהודה לביא זצ"ל" [Rabbi Yehuda Lavie] (in Hebrew). World Organization of Libyan Jews. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- "חכם אברהם חיים אדאדי" [Hakham Abraham Hayyim Adadi] (in Hebrew). HeHakham HaYomi. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- "הגאון רבי מסעוד חי רקח זיע"א" [HaGaon Rabbi Mas'ud Hai Rakkaḥ] (PDF). ירחון תורני יתד המאיר (Torah Monthly "Yated HaMe'ir") (in Hebrew). Machon Me'orot Avi (151): 58. 2014.
- "Rabbis of Libya". Machanayim (in Hebrew). Israel Defense Forces. 118–124.
Sources
- Hirschberg, H. Z. (1981). A History of the Jews in North Africa: From the Ottoman conquests to the present time. II. Brill. ISBN 9004062955.
- Nissim, Yitzhak (1964), "Introduction" (PDF), Ma'aseh Rokeaḥ (in Hebrew), IV
Further reading
- Yaari, Avraham (1951). שלוחי ארץ ישראל [Emissaries of the Land of Israel]. Jerusalem. p. 675.
- יהדות לוב [Jews of Libya] (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv. 1960. p. 68.