Tag Archives: Baghdad

Jew of the Week: Saadia Gaon

Depiction of the Sura Academy

Sa’adiah ben Yosef (c. 882-942) was born in Fayum, Egypt. His family moved to Israel while he was still very young, and he began his Torah studies at the famous academy of Tiberias. By the time he was 20, he completed his first work, Agron, possibly the first official Hebrew dictionary. Sa’adiah went on to write over two dozen significant texts in both Hebrew and Arabic, including Emunot v’Deot, thought to be the first Jewish work that blended Jewish teachings with science and Greek philosophy. He also translated the entire Torah into Arabic, and wrote a deep commentary on top of it, together with many other books of the Bible. At the time, the vast majority of Jews in the world lived in Arabic lands, so this translation served a monumental role in helping spread Jewish learning. Sa’adiah also authored a number of legal treatises, and translated the mystical Sefer Yetzirah into Arabic, adding his own commentaries that weaved together both esoteric and scientific explanations. Sa’adiah is credited with being a key force in Judeo-Arabic culture, and inspiring a “renaissance” in Jewish-Arabic literature. Meanwhile, he played an instrumental role in defending traditional Judaism in the face of the rising Karaite sect, a cause he fought for until his last days (at times risking his life). For his great wisdom and tireless work on behalf of the Jewish community, Sa’adiah was appointed “Gaon” in 928. The title Gaon (literally “genius”) was given to the head of the Sura Academy, then the leading body of Jewish scholarship in the world. Sa’adiah Gaon died in Baghdad at the age of 60, having inspired a new generation of Torah scholars. Two hundred years later, the great Maimonides wrote: “Were it not for Rav Sa’adiah Gaon, the Torah would have almost disappeared from the Jewish people, for it was he who shed light on that which was obscure, strengthened that which had been weakened, and spread the Torah far and wide, by word of mouth and in writing.”

Words of the Week

The birds and many of the land animals forbidden [to eat] by the Torah are predators, while the permitted animals are not. We are commanded not to eat those animals possessive of a cruel nature, so that we should not absorb these qualities into ourselves.
– Nachmanides (the Ramban)

Jew of the Week: Rav Yitzhak Kaduri

Rav Yitzchak Kaduri

Yitzhak ben Zeev Diva (c. 1902-2008) was born in Baghdad to a rabbi who worked as a spice trader. Early on, he plunged into the depths of Jewish wisdom and by his teenage years was already recognized as a prodigy. In 1923, he settled in the Holy Land to bring spirituality into the secular Zionism that was flourishing in Israel. Upon arrival, he officially changed his last name to Kaduri. He continued his learning under some of the greatest rabbis of the time, particularly at Jerusalem’s famous Porat Yosef Yeshiva. Meanwhile, refusing to live on charity, he worked as a scribe and bookbinder, committing the books that he worked on to memory. It is said that he memorized the entire Talmud (over 5400 pages of dense text), together with its commentaries, along with a multitude of other works. He wrote several mystical texts of his own, which were never published, as Rav Kaduri did not want them getting into the wrong hands. He went on to become the head mekubal (“Kabbalist”) among Israel’s rabbis. His son spearheaded the opening of Rav Kaduri’s own yeshiva – Nachalat Yitzchak – located in the Bukharian Quarter of Jerusalem next to the Rav’s home. Rav Kaduri was famous for eating very little, and speaking very little. Despite his occupation with study, his doors were always open to help others (in fact, he refused to lock the doors of his home even amidst a spate of thefts). Hundreds of people sought his advice and blessings each day, and he was known as a miracle worker and healer. At his funeral, 8 years yesterday, over 300,000 people came to pay their respects.

Words of the Week

When God created the first man, He showed him all the trees of the Garden of Eden, and said to him: ‘See My works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are. And everything that I created, I created for you. Be careful not to spoil or destroy My world—for if you do, there will be nobody after you to repair it.’
– Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 7:13

Jew of the Week: Rav Ovadia Yosef

Rav Ovadia Yosef

Abdullah Ovadia Yousseff (1920-2013) was born in Baghdad, Iraq and immigrated with his family to Jerusalem at the age of 4. He was quickly recognized as a young prodigy with a photographic memory and a profound depth of understanding, and ordained as a rabbi at age 20. Shortly after, Rav Ovadia moved to Cairo, Egypt where he headed a yeshiva and Jewish court until his return to Israel upon the State’s independence. In 1952 he published the first of several great works, which propelled him into the spotlight. He then founded an advanced yeshiva for gifted students. By 1973, Rav Ovadia was appointed Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi. He served in this post until 1984 when he founded the Shas political party – today the 4th largest in the Knesset – and served as its spiritual guide until his last days. A scholar above all else, he pored through thousands of works. Once, he tumbled off a ladder while reaching for a book, breaking his back. As no one was there to help him, he grabbed the nearest text and studied it for 3 hours until someone found him. Possessing a great love for the Jewish people, Rav Ovadia always strove to make life simpler for the Jews, earning a reputation for being very lenient when it came to Jewish law. He was heavily engaged in kiruv – bringing secular Jews back to their heritage and into the spiritual fold. He especially focused his efforts on Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews (who often suffered discrimination and a lower socio-economic status in Israel) and is thus credited with restoring Jewish and national pride among this demographic. Many stories highlight his love and service to the people. Once, he suffered a heart attack and was rushed to hospital for life-saving surgery. He had the surgery delayed for several hours as he was in the middle of writing a letter to a woman in distress, and feared that if he died there would be no one to help her. Sadly, Rav Ovadia passed away on Monday. Nearly a million people attended his funeral in Jerusalem – the largest funeral in Israel’s history. Many have hailed his passing as the end of an era in the country’s history.

Words of the Week

The righteous promise little and do a lot; the wicked promise much and don’t do even a little.
– Talmud, Bava Metzia 87a