Yaakov Meir

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(; 1856–1939), was an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

rabbi, and the first

Sephardic 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 ...

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

appointed under the British Mandate of Palestine. A Talmudic scholar, fluent in

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 ...

as well as five other languages, he enjoyed a reputation as one of

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 ...

's most respected rabbis. Rabbi Yaakov Meir

Early life

Meir was born in

in 1856, the son of successful merchant Calev Mercado. He studied 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 ...

under Rabbi Menachem Bechor Yitzhak, and at age 15 began to study

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

under Rabbi Aharon Azriel, an elder of the

Beit El Synagogue The Beit El Kabbalist yeshiva (Beit El means "House of God") (also: ''Midrash Hasidim'' 'School of the Devout' or ''Yeshivat haMekubalim'', 'Yeshiva of the Kabbalists') is a center of Kabbalah, kabbalistic study in Jerusalem. It consists of two ...

. He married his wife Rachel at age 17, and continued to study Torah in the years after his marriage. He was among the founders of a

Bikur cholim ''Bikur cholim'' (; "visiting the sick"; also transliterated ''bikur holim'') refers to the mitzvah (Jewish religious commandment) to visit and extend aid to the sick. It is considered an aspect of ''gemilut chasadim'' (benevolence, selflessne ...

society in 1879. In 1882, he was sent to

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

as the first

emissary Emissary may refer to: __NOTOC__ Arts and entertainment Star Trek * Benjamin Sisko, the Emissary of the Prophets, the Bajorans' gods * "Emissary" (''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''), the pilot episode of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' * "The Em ...

to visit there. He was received with great respect by the Jews of Bukhara, and children were named for him during his stay. He was instrumental in encouraging the immigration of Bukhara Jews to the Land of Israel. In 1885, 1888, and 1900, he visited Tunisia and Algeria as an emissary. In 1888, he was appointed a member of the '' Beth Din'' of Rabbi Yaakov Shaul Elyashar in Jerusalem, serving in this position until 1899. Under Turkish rule, he often interceded with the authorities on behalf of the Jewish community; he also encouraged the construction of new Jewish quarters of Jerusalem, helping establish the new neighborhoods of Ezrat Yisrael, Yemin Moshe, and the Bukharim Quarter. He worked to bring the Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities together, and established an association called Hitachadut composed of Sephardim and Ashkenazim. He helped establish the Sha'ar Zion Hospital in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

in 1891. Meir was committed to the

Revival of the Hebrew language The revival of the Hebrew language took place in Europe and the Levant region toward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century, through which the language's usage changed from purely the sacred language of Judaism to a spoken and wr ...

, and together with

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Eliezer Ben‑Yehuda (born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman; 7 January 1858 – 16 December 1922) was a Russian–Jewish linguist, lexicographer, and journalist who immigrated to Jerusalem in 1881, when the Ottoman Empire ruled it. He is renowned as the ...

, Chaim Hirschensohn, and Chaim Kalmi, he co-founded the Safa Brura ("clear language") association, which was created in 1889 to teach and encourage the use of Hebrew. He was a founding member of the Hebrew Language Committee, which was established by Ben-Yehuda in 1890 and was later succeeded by the

Academy of the Hebrew Language The Academy of the Hebrew Language (, ''ha-akademyah la-lashon ha-ivrit'') was established by the Israeli government in 1953 as the "supreme institution for scholarship on the Hebrew language in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem of Givat Ram cam ...

. In 1899, Meir was appointed deputy head of the Beth Din of Rabbi Raphael Yitzhak Yisrael. Following Elyashar's death in 1906, he was picked to succeed him as the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, but his appointment was vetoed by his opponents, supported by the

Hakham Bashi ''Hakham Bashi - חכם באשי'' (, , ; ; translated into French as: khakham-bachi) is the Turkish name for the Chief Rabbi of the nation's History of the Jews in Turkey, Jewish community. In the time of the Ottoman Empire it was also used for ...

in Constantinople, because of his Zionist affiliations. He was subsequently inducted as Hakham Bashi of Palestine but six months later, he was deposed by the Sultan of Turkey, and

Eliyahu Moshe Panigel Eliyahu Moshe Panigel (; 1850–1919) was the Sephardi chief rabbi of the Ottoman Empire, Zion and Jerusalem. Orphaned at a young age, Panigel was brought up by his uncle Raphael Meir Panigel, the '' rishon le-Zion'' (Sephardi chief rabbi of Zi ...

took charge of overseeing the Orthodox community.

Salonica

Meir went on to be elected chief rabbi of

Salonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

in 1908, where he remained until 1919. He was elected chief rabbi of Jerusalem in 1911, but the Jews of Salonica prevented him from assuming the office.

Palestine

In 1921, the Chief Rabbinate of Palestine was established. Meir was elected as Sephardi chief rabbi of Palestine, and took the position, assuming the title of "Rishon le-Zion". He was at the forefront of the effort to revive Hebrew as a modern language. He held the post until his death. A letter he wrote in 1936 called an "Appeal for Friendliness" called on the Muslims of Jerusalem to halt any hatred and animosity towards Jews who were returning to their Holy Land. Meir died on May 26, 1939, aged 83 years old. Over 10,000 Jewish residents of Jerusalem, representing all sections of the population, took part in the funeral procession.

Honours

In 1920, Meir was honoured with the

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

award for service to the British. He was also awarded the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

, and received decorations from the sultan of Turkey and the Greek government, as well as Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz. In 2006, the

Israel Postal Company The Israel Postal Company (), formerly called the Israel Postal Authority and currently doing business as Israel Post, is a government-owned corporation that provides postal services in Israel. Israel Post has 5,000 employees,

issued a stamp bearing his image.

References

Sources

Jewish Virtual Library: Rabbi Jacob Meir

Virtual Judaica: Protest petition on behalf of R. Jacob Meir
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meir, Jacob 1856 births 1939 deaths Rabbis in Jerusalem Rishon LeZion (rabbi) 20th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Legion of Honour Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Jews and Judaism in Thessaloniki Hebrew language Zionists Orthodox rabbis in Ottoman Palestine Sephardi rabbis from Ottoman Palestine Shelichei derabonan (rabbis)