Aaron ben Isaac Lapapa (c. 1590–1674) was an Oriental
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 t ...
and
Talmudist
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
. He was at first rabbi at
Manissa,
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, and at an advanced age was called to
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...
as judge in civil affairs. In 1665, when the
Sabbatai Zevi movement was at its height there, he was one of the few rabbis who had the courage to oppose the false prophet and
excommunicate him. Sabbatai Zevi and his adherents retorted by deposing him and forcing him to leave the city, and his office was given to his colleague,
Ḥayyim Benveniste, at that time one of Sabbatai's followers. After Sabbatai's conversion to
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, Lapapa seems to have been reinstated.
Lapapa was a pupil of
Abraham Motal and son-in-law of
Solomon Algazi. He wrote: ''Bene Aharon'', ''
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 ...
'' and ''novellæ'' (Smyrna, 1674); ''Teshubot'', ''responsa'', published in the ''Abaḳ Derakim'' of
Baruch Kalometi (Salonica, 1714); ''Yad Aharon'', an index to the
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
and to rabbinical literature (see Benjacob, ''Oẓar ha-Sefarim''). Two other works, a commentary to the ''Toledot Adam v'Chavah'' of
R. Jeroham, and a work called ''Shiá¹á¹ot Meḳubbaẓot'', a collection of glosses on various Talmudic tractates, are mentioned by
David Conforte and
Azulai. An anonymous rabbinical decision, edited by
Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
Palaggi in ''Abraham Azkir'' (Smyrna, 1889) and by
Simon Bernfeld in ''Ḳobeẓ al Yad'' (published by the
Meḳiẓe Nirdamim, Berlin, 1899), is attributed to him.
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
*
Azulai, ''Shem ha-Gedolim'', s.v. Ḥayyim Benveniste;
*
Benjacob, ''Oẓar ha-Sefarim'', pp. 167, 478, 523;
*
David Conforte, ''Ḳore ha-Dorot'', pp. 45b, 51b;
*
Heinrich Grätz, ''Gesch.'' x.222;
*''
Ha-Shaḥar'', 1872, p. 288;
*
Moritz Steinschneider, ''Cat. Bodl.'';
*
Joseph Zedner, ''Cat. Hebr. Books Brit. Mus.'' s.v. and p. 408.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapapa
1590s births
1674 deaths
17th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire
Smyrniote Jews