Rabbi Ephraim ben Israel Alnaqua (1359–1442)
() (also, "Al-Nakawa", "Al-Nakava", "Ankava", "Ankoa", "Enkaoua", "Alnucawi", etc.,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: "נקוה", "אלנאקוה", "אנקווה", "אנקאווא") was a physician, rabbi, theological writer, and founder of the Jewish community at
Tlemçen (Algeria), where he died in 1442.
According to a legend, Alnaqua escaped from the
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...
, which had martyred his father (
Rabbi Israel Ben Joseph Alnaqua)
and mother at the stake during or around the time of the
Massacre of 1391
The Massacre of 1391, also known as the pogroms of 1391, refers to a murderous wave of mass violence committed against the Jews of Spain by the Catholic populace in the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, both in present-day Spain, in the year 139 ...
in Toledo, and came to Tlemçen mounted on a lion, using a serpent as a halter.
Azulai refers to him as a miracle worker. Alnaqua succeeded, after all, other physicians had failed, in curing the only daughter of a king of the
Zayyanid dynasty
The Zayyanid dynasty or Ziyanids (, ''Ziyāniyyūn'') or Abd al-Wadids (, ''Bānu ʿAbd āl-Wād'') was a Berber Zenata dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Tlemcen, mainly in modern Algeria centered on the town of Tlemcen in northwest Algeria. Th ...
. Refusing the reward of gold and silver offered him by the king, he begged only that the Jews living near Tlemçen might be united in it. In this way, the community was formed.
Alnaqua's first care was to establish a large synagogue: this is , and bears his name. Above the rabbi's chair, on which a verse from the
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah () is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1#Superscription, Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the book as "th ...
is engraved: "A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary"
Jeremiah 17:12 Hebrew
ירמיהו יז יב and a lamp burns there perpetually. Alnaqua's grave, surrounded by those of his family, is in the old cemetery: it is sacred to North African Jews, and by pilgrims from all
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
.
Alnaqua had two sons, Israel and Judah. The latter lived at Oran,
Mostaganem
Mostaganem () is a port city in and capital of Mostaganem (province), Mostaganem province, in the northwest of Algeria. The city, founded in the 11th century lies on the Gulf of Arzew, Mediterranean Sea and is 72 km ENE of Oran. It is consi ...
, and, later, at Tlemçen, and became the father-in-law of the son of
Solomon ben Simon Duran. Alnaqua wrote for his elder son Israel ''Shaar Kevod Adonai'' (Entrance to the Glory of God), containing answers to the criticisms of
Nahmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...
on the ''Moreh'' of
Maimonides
Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...
. Manuscripts of this work exist in the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
, Oxford. He also wrote some hymns.
Other family members
*
Israel Alnaqua
* Jacky N'Kaoua, ''aka'' Papi Jacky
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
*
Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim, s.v.;
*
Benjacob, Oẓar ha-Sefarim, p. 599;
*Neubauer, Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS. Nos. 939, 2; 1258, 2;
*Revue Africaine, 1870, pp. 377–383;
*
Zunz, Z. G. p. 435;
*idem, Literaturgesch. p. 524.
References
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alnaqua
1442 deaths
15th-century Algerian rabbis
Date of birth unknown
Sephardi rabbis
1359 births
Miracle workers