Graziadio (Hananel) Nepi (; 1759 – January 18, 1836), also known by the
acronym
An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
Ḥen (), was an Italian rabbi,
Kabbalist, and physician.
Biography
Graziadio Nepi studied at
Ferrara
Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...
for twelve years under Rabbi and subsequently was himself the teacher of many disciples in his native city. On account of his great Talmudic learning he was sent as deputy to the
Assembly of Jewish Notables convened by
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
at Paris in 1806. Upon his return he was called to the congregation at
Cento
Cento (; Bolognese dialect, Northern Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, City Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, Centese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
History
The name Cento is a reference to the centur ...
, where he held the position of rabbi until his death, his pupil becoming his successor at Ferrara.
Nepi, who lived an ascetic life, was one of the highest religious authorities of his time in Italy. Among his publications were ''Livyat Ḥen'', a collection of the
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 ...
which he sent to different rabbis, and ''Derushim'', a collection of his sermons. His ''Zekher tsadikim li-verakhah'', consisting of biographical and bibliographical sketches of rabbis and Jewish scholars, was intended to complete
Azulai's ''Shem ha-gedolim'' but left unfinished. It was completed by
M. S. Ghirondi under the title ''Toledot gedole Yisrael'', and published by the latter's son (Triest, 1853). A catalogue of his library was published in
Lemberg
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
in 1873.
Selected publications
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References
External links
Works by Graziadio Nepiat the
National Library of Israel
The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nepi, Graziadio
1759 births
1836 deaths
19th-century Italian physicians
19th-century Italian rabbis
Jewish physicians
Religious leaders from Ferrara