Saul Adadi (, 1850 – September 18, 1918) was a

Sephardi 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 ...

Hakham ''Hakham'' (or ''Chakam(i), Haham(i), Hacham(i), Hach''; ) is a term in Judaism meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a great Torah scholar. It can also refer to any cultured and learned person: "He who says a wise th ...

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

, and paytan in the 19th-century Jewish community of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. He was heavily involved in youth education, founding a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

and co-founding and serving as principal of a

Talmud Torah Talmud Torah (, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew language, H ...

. He preserved the '' pinkasim'' (community record books) of the Tripoli Jewish community, unpublished manuscripts of 18th-century Tripoli Jewish leader Rabbi Abraham Khalfon, and '' sefarim'' belonging to his father, Hakham Abraham Hayyim Adadi, a senior rabbi of the previous generation.

Family

Saul Adadi was born in Tripoli, the scion of a distinguished rabbinical family. He was the son of Hakham Abraham Hayyim Adadi (1801–1874), head of the Tripoli rabbinical court and author of several

halakhic ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments (''mitzv ...

works. He was the great-grandson of Hakham Nathan Adadi (1740–1818), one of the leaders of the Tripoli Jewish community in the 19th century, and the great-great-grandson of Hakham Mas'ud Hai Rakkah (1690–1768), author of ''Ma'aseh Rokeaḥ'', who is credited with laying the foundation for the development of the Jewish community of Tripoli into one of "sages, scribes, and kabbalists". He was a contemporary of Hakham Jacob Rakkah (1800–1891), another great-great-grandson of Mas'ud Hai Rakkah and author of approximately 40 '' sefarim''. On

Lag BaOmer Lag BaOmer (, ''LaG Bāʿōmer''), also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a Judaism, Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew calendar, Hebrew month of Iyar. Accordin ...

1870, Adadi's father and mother returned to

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

in the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

, where the senior Adadi had lived in his younger years and served as a '' shadar'' (rabbinical emissary). Saul remained in Tripoli and corresponded with his father until the latter's death in 1874.

Rabbinic career

Adadi founded a

in Tripoli and served as

. With secular educational streams making inroads in Tripoli, Adadi, together with Rabbis Zion Tzaror, Mas'ud Jenah, and Nissim Nahum, founded a

called Yagdil Torah in 1893. In its first year, this Talmud Torah enrolled 330 children, and by 1905, when its permanent building was erected, 400 students, mostly from poor families. Adadi was the principal of the school, and was responsible for testing the children once a week and recording their grades to track the success of the program. Adadi also built a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

in Tripoli; a commemorative marker that records his name along with the names of builders of all of the other synagogues built in Tripoli from the Middle Ages until the Second World War appears in the Eitz Chaim synagogue in

Or Yehuda Or Yehuda () is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel. Located in the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area, in it had a population of . History Prehistory Human settlement back to the Chalcolithic has been found on the site.piyyut A piyyuṭ (plural piyyuṭim, ; from ) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Most piyyuṭim are in Mishnaic Hebrew or Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, and most follow some p ...

im'' (liturgical poems), and left a volume of ''piyyutim'' in manuscript form. He died in Tripoli on September 18, 1918 (13

Tishrei Tishrei () or Tishri (; ''tīšrē'' or ''tīšrī''; from Akkadian ''tašrītu'' "beginning", from ''šurrû'' "to begin") is the first month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year (wh ...

5679).

Legacy

Scholars have uncovered the '' pinkasim'' (community record books) of the Tripoli Jewish community in Adadi's

study hall Study hall, known as private study, SAS, structured study or free periods in the United Kingdom, is a term for a place to have a study time during the school day where students are assigned to study when they are not scheduled for an academic cl ...

, as well as unpublished manuscripts (''ktav yad'') of Rabbi Abraham Khalfon, one of the heads of the community in the 18th century. Adadi also preserved the ''sefarim'' of his father, which carry his (Saul Adadi's) stamp and which have been sold at auction.

Rakkah-Adadi family tree

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adadi, Saul 1850 births 1918 deaths Libyan rabbis Rosh yeshivas 18th-century Sephardi Jews 19th-century Sephardi Jews People from Tripoli, Libya Jewish liturgical poets