Jacob Hagiz (1620–1674) () was a Jewish
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 ...
ist born of a
Sephardic Jewish
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
family at
Fez, Morocco
Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes, Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the List of cities in Morocco, largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to ...
. Ḥagiz's teacher was David Karigal who afterward became his father-in-law. In about 1646, Ḥagiz went to
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
for the purpose of publishing his books, and remained there until after 1656, supporting himself by teaching. Samuel di Pam, rabbi at
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
, calls himself a pupil of Ḥagiz. About 1657, Ḥagiz left
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
for
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, where the Vega brothers of Livorno had founded a
beit midrash for him, and where he became a member of the rabbinical college. There a large number of eager young students gathered about him, among whom were
Moses ibn Ḥabib, who became his son-in-law, and
Joseph Almosnino, later rabbi of
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
. Another son-in-law of his was Moses Ḥayyun, father of
Nehemiah Hayyun. Another prominent student of his was Avraham Nathan ben Elisha Chaim Ashkenazi, renowned as
Nathan of Gaza, who served as the prophet of
Sabbatai Zevi.
Jacob Ḥagiz was active in the opposition to
Sabbatai Zevi and put him under the
ban.
About 1673, Ḥagiz went to
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
to publish his ''Leḥem ha-Panim,'' but he died there before this was accomplished. This book, as well as many others of his, was lost.
[ Moses Ḥagiz, in the introduction to ''Halakot Ḳeṭannot''] He also wrote:
* ''Teḥillat Ḥokhmah,'' on
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 ...
ic methodology, published together with
Samson of Chinon's ''Sefer Keritot'' (Verona, 1647;
Amsterdam, 1709Warsaw 1884 (without Sefer Keritot)
*
Oraḥ Mishor', on the conduct of
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 ...
s (an appendix to the preceding work; 2d ed., with additions by Moses Ḥagiz, Amsterdam, 1709)
* ''Petil Tekhelet,'' on the ''Azharot'' of
Solomon Gabirol (Venice, 1652; 2d ed., London, 1714)
* ''Eẓ ha-Ḥayyim,'' on the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
(Livorno, 1654–55; 2d ed., Berlin, 1716)
* Ḥagiz also translated the ''Menorat ha-Ma'or'' of
Isaac Aboab into Spanish (1656)
References
Its bibliography:
*
Grätz, ''Gesch.'' x.212 et seq., and note 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagiz, Jacob
1620 births
1674 deaths
17th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire
Sephardi rabbis from Ottoman Palestine
Religious leaders from Fez, Morocco
Authors of books on Jewish law