Solomon David Sassoon (14 August 1915 – 27 May 1985) was an educator,

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 ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, fundraiser, and collector of Jewish manuscripts.

Biography

Early life

Solomon David Sassoon was born in August 1915 in London into the wealthy

Sassoon family The Sassoon family were a wealthy Baghdadi Jews, Baghdadi Jews, Jewish family dynasty, associated with finance, banking, capital markets, the exploration of oil and gas, Judaism, British Conservative Party, Conservative politics, opium trade wit ...

.William D. Rubinstein, ''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p. 86

/ref> His father was

David Solomon Sassoon David Solomon Sassoon (; 8 December 1880 – 10 August 1942) (also known as "David Suleiman Sassoon"), was a bibliophile and grandson of 19th century Baghdadi Jewish community leader David Sassoon. Family Sassoon was born in Bombay to Solom ...

(1880–1942), a collector of Hebrew manuscripts whose

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

hailed from Baghdad. His paternal grandmother was Flora Sassoon. His paternal great-grandfather was

Albert Abdullah David Sassoon Sir Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, 1st Baronet, (25 July 181824 October 1896) was a Baghdad-born businessman and philanthropist. Biography Life and career Sassoon was born on 25 July 1818 in Baghdad, Ottoman Empire, into the Sassoon family o ...

(1818–1896), and his paternal great-great-grandfather was David Sassoon (1792–1864), a trader of cotton and opium who served as the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829. He was tutored in

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 ...

by Rabbi

Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (; 1892 – 31 December 1953) was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and Jewish philosopher of the 20th century. He is best known for being the ''mashgiach ruchani'' ("spiritual counselor") of the ...

Career

Sassoon made original contributions to linguistic analysis, philosophy, physiology and Biblical scholarship. In 1953 and again in 1964, he declined requests to put his name forward as a candidate for the position of Sephardi

Chief Rabbi of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel (, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. It was established in 1921 under the British Mandate, and today operates on the basis of the C ...

. His varied interests and literary output were maintained until his death.

Death and legacy

Solomon David Sassoon built a library in Letchworth, England, to house his father's collections of Jewish manuscripts and incunabula. Some of these holdings were later auctioned by Sotheby's of London in Zurich and in New York, between 1975 and 1994, in order to satisfy the Sassoon estate's British tax obligations.David Sassoon - The Bibliophile of Bombay
/ref> The rest of this collection was transferred to the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, in Canada. Sassoon died in Jerusalem in May 1985. His son, Isaac S.D. Sassoon, is also a rabbi.

Bibliography

*''Reality Revisited: A New Look at Computers and Minds, Physics and Evolution'', Feldheim; 2nd Revised edition (1991), *''Natan Hokhma liShlomo: A Collection of Torah Commentary, Essays on the Talmud and Assorted Philosophical Writings (1989)

Family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sassoon, Solomon David English religious writers English bibliophiles Sassoon family Sephardi rabbis English Orthodox rabbis 1915 births 1985 deaths British people of Indian-Jewish descent Baghdadi Jews British writers of Indian descent