Solomon Gaon (1912–1994) was a

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 ...

Rabbi and

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 ...

of the

Spanish and Portuguese Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the fe ...

of the British Commonwealth.

Biography

Solomon Gaon was born in

Travnik Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

in 1912 and studied at the

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 ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. Both his parents were murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. He received his rabbinic ordination from

Jews' College The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and teacher training to the wider Jewish community. Many leading figures in Brit ...

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 ...

. In 1949 he became Haham (Chief Rabbi) of the Sephardic congregations of the British Commonwealth. With Alan Mocatta, he is credited with revivifying a declining community. Beginning in 1963 he became involved (initially on a part-time basis) with

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

in New York, and was integral in the founding of its Sephardic Studies Program. Rabbi Gaon's overseas activities were controversial with some members of his London congregation, and he left under difficult circumstances. A 1977 ballot on his retirement as spiritual leader drew 75-75 and was only carried by the deciding vote of the president of the Mahamad (council). His departure deepened the rift within the community. No successor as Haham has yet been elected. Rabbi Abraham Levy served as "Spiritual Head" until his retirement in 2012.Jewish Chronicle, 19 April 2012. https://www.thejc.com/judaism/abraham-levy-ive-no-resentment-over-the-decision-to-retire-early-i8q1fy30 After moving to New York, Rabbi Gaon was also connected with the Spanish and Portuguese

Congregation Shearith Israel The Congregation Shearith Israel (), often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 2 West 70th Street, at Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, Unit ...

. In 1968 Rabbi Gaon delivered the main address at the dedication of the first synagogue consecrated in Spain since the Expulsion of the Jews in 1492. He became a professor at Yeshiva University in 1976, and founded and directed the Jacob E. Safra Institute of Sephardic Studies. He served as president of the Union of Sephardic Congregations of the United States and Canada. He was the principal representative of the Sephardic people at the March 31, 1992 event at the Beth Yaacov synagogue in Madrid, during which King Juan Carlos of Spain revoked the 1492 Edict of Expulsion. Haham Rabbi Gaon received Spain's

Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards (, ), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 (), are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Princess of Asturias Foundation (previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation) to individuals ...

in 1992 for his lifetime of efforts seeking a renewal of relationships between and among the Sephardim and the Spanish people. In 1991, he presided when Jewish services were held for the first time in 500 years in Zaragoza, Spain. In addition to numerous articles and sermons, Gaon authored: *''Prayer Book for Boys and Girls'', 1969 *''Haggadah or Order of Services for Domestic Use on the First Two Nights of Passover According to the Rite of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation'', London, 1975 *''Book of Prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation'', London, (ed) 1980 *''Del Fuego: Sephardim and the Holocaust''. (ed) with Mitchell Serels, 1987 () *''The Influence of the Catholic Theologian Alfonso Tostado on the Pentateuch Commentary of Isaac Abravanel'' Ktav, 1993 () * ''Minhath Shelomo: A Commentary on the Book of Prayer of the Spanish & Portuguese Jews'' Union of Sephardic Congregations, 1990 ()

References

*''Haham Gaon Memorial Volume'' Ed. Marc Angel, Hermon Press, 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaon, Solomon Bosnia and Herzegovina Sephardi Jews Bosnia and Herzegovina rabbis 1912 births 1994 deaths

Biography

Archives

References