Rabbi Dr. Yehuda Aryeh Leon Bibas (or Judah Bibas) () ( – April 6, 1852) 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, best known as one of the most prominent forerunners of the of modern
Zionist
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
movement. He also served as the Chief Rabbi of Corfu, Greece
Biography
Early life
Bibas was born in
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
to
Sephardi Jews
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 ...
descended from those who were expelled from Spain and settled in
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
. His father came from a line of
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 ...
s in
Tétouan
Tétouan (, or ) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and about E.S.E. of Tangier. In the 2014 Morocc ...
that immigrated to Gibraltar after a
pogrom
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
. One of his maternal ancestors was
Chaim ibn Attar
Chaim ibn Attar or Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar (, ; – 7 July 1743) also known as the Or ha-Ḥayyim after his popular commentary on the Torah, was a Talmudist and Kabbalist. He is arguably considered to be one of the most prominent Rabbis o ...
.
As a child, Bibas studied in Gibraltar. Following his father's death, he moved to
Livorno, Italy
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
, to live with his grandfather. Livorno had a very prestigious and educated Jewish community. Bibas received in Livorno most of his Jewish and secular education, becoming fluent in
English,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
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
...
and Hebrew. He became a rabbi and trained as a
physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
while in Italy. He later returned to Gibraltar and established himself as the
head of a local yeshiva. His yeshiva was attended by students from England, Italy and North Africa.
In 1810, he came to
London, England
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 ...
, where he met with Jewish activist and philanthropist Sir
Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...
. Montefiore helped to fund Bibas's activism.
In 1831, Bibas was appointed as the Chief Rabbi of
Corfu, Greece.
Zionist activism
In 1839–1840, Bibas visited many
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
communities, particularly those of Europe. Inspired by the
Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular
**Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans
** Serbian language
** Serbian culture
**Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...
and
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
revolts against the Ottoman Turks, Bibas began advocating a mass repatriation of Jews to Israel (then part of the Ottoman Empire). In the same year, he met
Judah Alkalai
Judah ben Solomon Chai Alkalai (1798 – October 1878) was a Sephardic Jewish rabbi, and one of the influential precursors of modern Zionism along with the Prussian Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer. Although he was a Sephardic Jew, he played an import ...
and became Alkalai's mentor. Alkalai went on to become an influential
proto-Zionist
Proto-Zionism (or Forerunner of Zionism; , pronounced: ''Mevasrei ha-Tzionut'') is a concept in historiography describing Jewish thinkers active during the second half of the 19th century who were deeply affected by the idea of modern nationali ...
himself.
Aliyah and death
In 1852, one year after his wife died, Bibas made
aliyah
''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...
and was welcomed by his students 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 ...
. Later, he moved to
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 ...
, established a seminary, and built his extensive library.
He died two months after his arrival and was buried in the
Old Jewish Cemetery in Hebron.
Legacy
The Jewish community of Hebron used to hold a memorial ceremony for Bibas every year on
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October.
For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...
evening. This tradition ended with the
1929 Hebron massacre that forced nearly all the city's Jews to flee. In 2022, Israel's President
Isaac Herzog
Isaac "Bougie" Herzog (; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving since 2021 as the president of Israel. He is the first president to have been born in Israel after its Declaration of Independence.
Son of former Is ...
commemorated Bibas on the 170th anniversary of his passing in a ceremony at the President's Residence calling him "one of the first forerunners of Zionism... his tremendous historical contribution has not received sufficient recognition." In Israel, a street in
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 ...
is named in his memory.
In 1953, Prof.
Solomon Zeitlin
Solomon Zeitlin (28 May 1886 or 31 May 1892 – 28 December 1976) was an American Jewish historian, Talmudic scholar and in his time the world's leading authority on the Second Commonwealth, also known as the Second Temple period. His work ''Th ...
made the claim that the
Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...
may have come from Bibas's library after having been looted during the 1929 Hebron massacre.
Burial location
In March 2025, the grave of Rabbi Yehuda Bibas was finally found after decades of attempts to locate it. It was understood that he had been buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery in Hebron, and that he was buried specifically in the section known as the "Rabbi's Plot," but little other information was clear.
The Jewish community of Hebron relied on oral traditions for grave locations and, following the 1929 Hebron massacre, much of their communal knowledge was lost. In 1967, there was an effort to identify as many of those buried in the ancient cemetery as possible. However, the specific location of Bibas's grave was not known until interest in him and finding his grave renewed in the years just prior to its discovery, prompting reexamination of existing evidence and further investigation.
See also
*
Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...
References
External links
Judah Bibas on jewishhistory.org.ilBibas, Judah - Brill Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibas, Yehuda
1789 births
1852 deaths
Forerunners of Zionism
Sephardi rabbis
Gibraltarian Sephardi Jews
People of Moroccan-Jewish descent
Clergy from Corfu
Jewish physicians
Burials at Old Jewish cemetery in Hebron
19th-century rabbis