|
Abdallah Somekh
Abdallah (Ovadia) Somekh (1813 – September 13, 1889) was an Iraqi Jewish hakham, rosh yeshiva and posek. Early life Abdallah Somekh was born in 1813 in Baghdad to Abraham Somekh, himself a descendant of Nissim Gaon; he was the eldest of eight brothers and eight sisters. He studied under Jacob ben Joseph Harofe. He married Sarah, who bore him the children Saleh, Haron, Raphael, Khatoon, Abraham, Sasson, Massouda, Rachel and Simha. Career At first, Somekh earned his living as a merchant, but he devoted himself to the field of education after he saw the level of Torah study wane in Baghdad. Somekh became head of the yeshiva Midrash Abu Menashe (established in 1840 by Heskel Menashe Zebaida); the yeshiva was later expanded and renamed Midrash Bet Zilkha and remained in operation until 1951.see History of the Jews in Iraq: Modern times (1922-) As rosh yeshiva, Somekh was teacher of several Sephardi sages including Yosef Hayyim ("Ben Ish Chai"), and Yaakov Chaim Sofer ("Kaf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hakham
''Hakham'' (or ''Chakam(i), Haham(i), Hacham(i), Hach''; ) is a term in Judaism meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a great Torah scholar. It can also refer to any cultured and learned person: "He who says a wise thing is called a ''Hakham'', even if he be not a Jew." Hence, in Talmudic-Midrashic literature, wise gentiles are commonly called ' ("wise men of the nations of the world"). In Sephardic usage, ''hakham'' is a synonym for " rabbi". In ancient times ''Hakham'' as an official title is found as early as the first Sanhedrin, after the reconstruction of that body, when the Hadrianic religious persecutions had ceased. In addition to the Simeon ben Gamliel, two other scholars stood at the head of the Sanhedrin, namely Nathan the Babylonian as '' Av Beit Din'' and Rabbi Meir as ''hakham''. Another hakham mentioned by name was Simon, the son of Judah ha-Nasi, who after the death of his father officiated as ''hakham'', with his elder brother ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |