Nathan Adadi
| Hakham Nathan Adadi | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Nathan Adadi |
| Born |
1740 Palestine |
| Died | 1818 (aged 77–78) |
| Yahrtzeit | 18 Elul 5578 |
| Buried | Safed, Palestine |
| Children | Mas'ud Hai 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.
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
- 1 2 3 4 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.
- 1 2 3 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.
- 1 2 "חכם אברהם חיים אדאדי" [Hakham Abraham Hayyim Adadi] (in Hebrew). HeHakham HaYomi. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- 1 2 "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.