Yaakov Meir

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1856–1939), was an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

rabbi, and the first Sephardic Chief Rabbi appointed under the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

. A Talmudic scholar, fluent in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

as well as five other languages, he enjoyed a reputation as one of

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

's most respected rabbis.

Early life

Meir was born in

in 1856, the son of successful merchant Calev Mercado. He studied the

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 ...

under Rabbi Menachem Bechor Yitzhak, and at age 15 began to study

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

under Rabbi Aharon Azriel, an elder of the

Beit El Synagogue Beit El Kabbalist yeshiva (Beit El means "House of God") (also: ''Midrash Hasidim'' 'School of the Devout' or ''Yeshivat haMekubalim, Yeshiva of the Kabbalists') is a center of kabbalistic study in Jerusalem. Today it consists of two buildings, o ...

. He married his wife Rachel at age 17, and continued to study Torah in the years after his marriage. He was among the founders of a

Bikur cholim ''Bikur cholim'' ( he, ביקור חולים; "visiting the sick"; also transliterated ''bikur holim'') refers to the mitzvah (Jewish religious commandment) to visit and extend aid to the sick. It is considered an aspect of ''gemilut chasadim'' ...

society in 1879. In 1882, he was sent to Bukhara as the first emissary to visit there. He was received with great respect by the Jews of Bukhara, and children were named for him during his stay. He was instrumental in encouraging the immigration of Bukhara Jews to the Land of Israel. In 1885, 1888, and 1900, he visited Tunisia and Algeria as an emissary. In 1888, he was appointed a member of the ''

Beth Din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a Rabbinic Judaism, rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of ...

'' of Rabbi Yaakov Shaul Elyashar in Jerusalem, serving in this position until 1899. Under Turkish rule, he often interceded with the authorities on behalf of the Jewish community; he also encouraged the construction of new Jewish quarters of Jerusalem, helping establish the new neighborhoods of

Ezrat Yisrael Ezrat Yisrael ( he, עזרת ישראל, "Help of Israel") is a former courtyard neighborhood in Jerusalem. The neighborhood consisted of buildings on either side of a lane, today named Ezrat Yisrael Street. The street is blocked on one end and ope ...

Yemin Moshe , settlement_type = Neighborhood of Jerusalem , image_skyline = משכנות שאננים בירושלים ביחד עם כנסיית דורמיציון ברקע.JPG , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = Ha-Brekha street , s ...

, and the Bukharim Quarter. He worked to bring the Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities together, and established an association called Hitachadut composed of Sephardim and Ashkenazim. He helped establish the Sha'ar Zion Hospital in Jaffa in 1891. Meir was committed to the

Revival of the Hebrew language The revival of the Hebrew language took place in Europe and Palestine toward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century, through which the language's usage changed from the sacred language of Judaism to a spoken and written language ...

, and together with Eliezer Ben-Yehuda,

Chaim Hirschensohn Rabbi Chaim Hirschensohn ( he, חיים הירשנזון, 1857 – 1935) was a prolific author, rabbi, thinker, and early proponent of Religious Zionism. Biography Chaim Hirschensohn was born on August 31, 1857 in Safed, in the Galilee to R ...

, and Chaim Kalmi, he co-founded the Safa Brura ("clear language") association, which was created in 1889 to teach and encourage the use of Hebrew. He was a founding member of the Hebrew Language Committee, which was established by Ben-Yehuda in 1890 and was later succeeded by the Academy of the Hebrew Language. In 1899, Meir was appointed deputy head of the Beth Din of Rabbi Raphael Yitzhak Yisrael. Following Elyashar's death in 1906, he was picked to succeed him as the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, but his appointment was vetoed by his opponents, supported by the

Hakham Bashi ''Haham Bashi'' (chachampasēs) which is explained as "μεγάλος ραβίνος" or "Grand Rabbi". * Persian: khākhāmbāšīgarī is used in the Persian version of the Ottoman Constitution of 1876. Strauss stated that there was a possibil ...

in Constantinople, because of his Zionist affiliations. He was subsequently inducted as Hakham Bashi of the Land of Israel, but six months later, he was deposed by the Sultan of Turkey, and

Eliyahu Moshe Panigel Eliyahu Moshe Panigel (1850–1919) was the Sephardi chief rabbi of the Ottoman Empire, Palestine and Jerusalem. Orphaned at a young age, Panigel was brought up by his uncle Raphael Meir Panigel, the ''rishon le-Zion'' (Sephardi chief rabbi of P ...

took charge of overseeing the Orthodox community.

Salonika

Meir went on to be elected chief rabbi of

Salonika 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 ...

in 1908, where he remained until 1919. He was elected chief rabbi of Jerusalem in 1911, but the Jews of Salonika prevented him from assuming the office.

Palestine

In 1921, the Chief Rabbinate of Palestine was established. Meir was elected as Sephardi chief rabbi of Palestine, and took the position, assuming the title of "Rishon le-Zion". He was at the forefront of the effort to revive Hebrew as a modern language. He held the post until his death. A letter he wrote in 1936 called an "Appeal for Friendliness" called on the Muslims of Jerusalem to halt any hatred and animosity towards Jews who were returning to their Holy Land. Meir died on May 26, 1939, aged 83 years old. Over 10,000 Jewish residents of Jerusalem, representing all sections of the population, took part in the funeral procession.

Honours

In 1920, Meir was honoured with the

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

award for service to the British. He was also awarded the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, and received decorations from the sultan of Turkey and the Greek government, as well as Hussein bin Ali,

King of Hejaz The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz ( ar, المملكة الحجازية الهاشمية, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region in the Middle East that included the western portion of the Arabian Peninsul ...

. In 2006, the Israel Postal Company issued a stamp bearing his image.

Sources

Jewish Virtual Library: Rabbi Jacob Meir

Virtual Judaica: Protest petition on behalf of R. Jacob Meir

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meir, Jacob 1856 births 1939 deaths Rabbis in Jerusalem Rishon LeZion (rabbi) 20th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Legion of Honour Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Jews and Judaism in Thessaloniki Hebrew language Zionists Orthodox rabbis in Ottoman Palestine Sephardi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine