David ben Ḥayyim Ḥazzan

Joseph Raphael ben Ḥayyim Ḥazzan (known by the acronym Yareaḥ; d. 1820) was the grandson of David ben Ḥayyim. Born in Izmir, he was orphaned at an early age, but continued his studies and in 1794 accepted an appointment there as a head rabbi, second to Raphael Isaac ben Aaron Mayo (d. 1810). The relations between the two were complicated and troublesome, because they differed on many social and communal questions. After the death of Rabbi Mayo, Joseph Raphael became the chief rabbi (rav kolel) of the city. Three years later, he went to Palestine and settled in Hebron. In 1818, Joseph Raphael became the chief rabbi (rishon le-ṣiyyon)of the Sephardi community in Jerusalem, a position he held till his death. Joseph Raphael had four sons from his marriage to Rusa, the daughter of Daniel Pallache (Palaggi; see Pallache Family), all of whom were noted scholars: Eliezer (d. 1823), author of the responsa collection Mishpeṭe ha-Shem (Judgments of the Lord; Jerusalem, 1995), which until recently remained in manuscript form; Raḥamim Elijah (d. 1840); Isaac (d. 1854); and Ḥayyim David. Joseph Raphael’s responsa collection, Ḥiqre Lev (Searchings of the Heart; Salonica, 1785–87), encompasses seven volumes. He also wrote a collection of homiletic sermons entitled Maʿarakhe Lev (Preparations of the Heart; Salonica, 1821–22).

Yaron Ben Naeh

Bibliography

Biṭon, Daniel (ed.). Sefer She’elot u-Teshuvot Ḥiqrey Lev (Jerusalem: Mekhon ha-Ma’or, 1998), introduction.

Frumkin, Arye Leib, and Eliezer Rivlin. Toledot Ḥakhme Yerushalayim, 3 vols. (Jerusalem: Defus Salomon, 1927), index.

Gaon, Moshe David. Oriental Jews in Eretz-Israel (Past and Present), 2 vols. (Jerusalem, 1928–38; repr. n.p., n.d .), vol. 2, pp. 245–253 [Hebrew].

Hazzan, Israel Moses. Words of Peace and Truth (London: Meldola, 1845).

Rosanes, Salomon A. Histoire des Israélites de Turquie et de l’Orient (Sofia: Amichpat, 1934–38), vols. 4–5 passim [Hebrew].

Stillman, Norman. Sephardi Religious Responses to Modernity (Luxembourg: Harwood Academic Press, 1995).

Zohar, Zvi. The Luminous Face of the East: Studies in the Legal and Religious Thought of Sephardic Rabbis of the Middle East (Israel: Hakkibutz Hameuchad, 2001) [Hebrew].

Cite this page

Yaron Ben Naeh. "Ḥazzan family." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Brill Online, 2013. <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-...>