Isaac Ben Walid (, ; 1777–1870), also known by his

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

The Fair, was a Moroccan

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 ...

. He served as the rabbi of

Tétouan Tétouan ( ar, تطوان, tiṭwān, ber, ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⴰⵏ, tiṭṭawan; es, Tetuán) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles s ...

for approximately 40 years. Ben Walid also authored a two-volume book on the history of Jews in Tétouan, entitled '' So Spoke Isaac'' (ויאמר יצחק). In 1860, he founded the first ever school of the ''

Alliance Israélite Universelle The Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU; he, כל ישראל חברים; ) is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 with the purpose of safeguarding human rights for Jews around the world. It promotes the ideals of Jew ...

'', located in Tétouan.

Biography

Isaac Ben Walid was born in Tétouan in 1777 to Rabbi Shem Tov and into a family of rabbis. He was named after his grandfather, Rabbi Isaac. Ben Walid's father died when he was young, and his family became poor. Ben Walid married a woman from a family of rabbis. She gave birth to his eldest son before passing away shortly thereafter. He remarried a rabbi named Widal Pipas (), who gave birth to 10 children who became rabbis. Ben Walid spent most of his life teaching students the Torah. His mausoleum is located in ''Hay Al-Quds'', formerly Tétouan's Jewish quarter, and it hosts a memorial celebration, or '' hillula'', annually.

References

18th-century Moroccan rabbis People from Tétouan All stub articles 1870 deaths 1777 births 19th-century Moroccan rabbis {{Morocco-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References