Raphael Hayyim Isaac Carregal
[Also spelt: Carigal, Carrigal, Karigal, Karigel, Karigol, Kargol, Kragol.] (October 15, 1733,
Hebron
Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
,
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
– May 5, 1777,
Barbados
Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
) was an itinerant
Palestinian rabbi and preacher. He is the first rabbi known to have visited
the colonies that became the United States.
Biography
Carregal refers to
David Melammed as his teacher. He was an ordained rabbi at the age of seventeen, and in 1754 set out on a series of voyages, usually remaining a brief time in the places he visited; e.g., two years in
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 ...
(1754–56); two years in
Curaçao
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela.
Curaçao includ ...
, (1761–63); four years in Hebron (1764–68); two and a half years in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
(1768–71); one year in
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
(1771–72); and one year in the
British colonies of North America (1772–73). On July 21, 1773 he sailed for
Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
, and in 1775 he was at Barbados. In London, according to his own statement, he was teacher at the
Bet ha-midrash
A ''beth midrash'' (, "house of learning"; : ''batei midrash''), also ''beis medrash'' or ''beit midrash'', is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall". It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth knesseth''), although ...
, earning a salary of £100 per annum (). At Curaçao, he appears to have held the office of rabbi, though no record of his incumbency is to be found in local annals. He spent some time in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and sojourned in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
(March–July 1773), as the guest of the community. Though not connected with the congregation, he often officiated at divine service, preaching in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
.
While in Newport, Carregal became an intimate friend of
Ezra Stiles
Ezra Stiles ( – May 12, 1795) was an American educator, academic, Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He is noted as the seventh president of Yale College (1778–1795) and one of the founders of Brown University. According ...
, afterward president of
Yale College
Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
. They studied together, discussing the
exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...
and interpretation of
Messianic
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach' ...
passages in the Bible, and corresponded, mostly 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 ...
. The letters still exist among the unpublished Stiles papers in the library of
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. Stiles also took advantage of the opportunity to improve his basic skills in the Hebrew language, feeling (as did many scholars of divinity in the period) that this was advantageous for study of the ancient Biblical texts in their original language. Stiles, in his diary, speaks lovingly and admiringly of his Jewish friend; gives a long account of his dress, manner, and personality; and, in a series of entries occupying many pages, draws up a complete memoir of his career in Newport. Stiles commissioned a portrait of Carigal by artist
Samuel King for Yale.
Stiles describes Carregal at the March, 1773 Purim service at the Newport synagogue as:
:"''dressed in a red garment with the usual Phylacteries and habiliments, the white silk Surplice; he wore a high fur cap, had a long beard. He has the appearance of an ingenious and sensible man''"
and at the Passover services the next month as wearing:
:"''On his Head a high Fur Cap, exactly like a Womans Muff, and about 9 or 10 Inches high, the Aperture atop was closed with green cloth''",
and singing in a "fine & melodious" voice. Thus impressed by Carregal, Stiles invited him and
Aaron Lopez, a respected local Jewish merchant, to his home on March 30, 1773. The two immediately hit it off; according to Stiles' records they met 28 times before Carregal's departure six months later, to discuss a wide variety of topics ranging from the politics of the
Holy Land
The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...
to the mysticism of the
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 ...
. Carregal also tutored Stiles in the Hebrew language, to the point that they corresponded extensively in Hebrew after Carregal's departure.
Carregal appears to have written only two brochures (both sermons), published in Newport in 1773. The published sermons are the first Jewish sermons published in the United States.
Notes
References
*
Abiel Holmes
Abiel Holmes (December 24, 1763 – June 4, 1837) was an American Congregational clergyman and historian. He was the father of Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and grandfather of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Biography
Holmes was born in Woodstock, Conne ...
, ''Life of Ezra Stiles'', Boston, 1798
*''Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society'', No. 3, pp. 122–125; No. 6, p. 79; No. 8, pp. 119–126
*''The Literary Diary of Ezra Stiles'', edited by F.B. Dexter, New York, 1901
*Yosef Goldman, ''Hebrew Printing in America'', New York, 2006
External links
*
Rabbi Carregal's Shavuot Sermon
The Rabbis and Ezra Stiles by Arthur A. ChielThe Rabbi from Hebron and the President of YaleThe Chacham for the ColoniesThe Rabbis and the Reverend Ezra Stiles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carregal, Raphael Chayyim Isaac
1733 births
1777 deaths
Rabbis in Hebron
Sephardi rabbis from Ottoman Palestine
18th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire
Barbadian Jews
Shelichei derabonan (rabbis)