Sephardic Chief Rabbis in Israel 1665-2007

Community Records · Eretz Israel · Sephardic · Jeff Malka Collection

The Sephardic Community Council in Jerusalem had a major role in the country not only in relation with the organization of the local Jews’ life in Eretz Israel but also in relation with the ruling authority of the country: the Ottoman ruler till 1917 and the British mandatory government that ended in 1948 with the foundation of the State of Israel.

Its main functions were:

1. Being the official representative of the Sephardic community to the Ottoman and British rulers of Eretz Israel
2. Being the municipal institution that was responsible for providing all the needs of the Sephardic community in Jerusalem including assistance to the needy
3. Being in charge of the Sephardic rabbinic court that handled marriages, divorces and adjudication in monetary matters
4. Holding a Burial Society in charge of burying the deceased in the Mount of Olives Cemetery

Some explanations about the three titles Chief Rabbis had during the last 350 years:

The Rishon LeTsion literally means “The First in Zion”. It derives from from the expression found in the Bible verse: “A harbinger unto Zion will I give” (Isaie 41:27) . This title was first taken in 1665 by Rabbi Moshe Galante and lasted in 1836.

The Hakham Bashi is the Turkish exact translation of “Chief Rabbi”. In 1842 the Turks combined the roles of the Constantinople Hakham Bashi and of the Rishon leTsion, while this last was in fact the representative of the Erets Yisrael Jewish population. That unification happened when R’ Yona Moshe Navon was functioning as Rishon LeTzion. In fact this Hebrew title remained in used in the Hebrew language till our days.

The Sephardic Chief Rabbi: The Hakham Bashi title continued to be used under the British Mandate till 1921 when a new body was created “The Chief Rabbinate of Erets Yisrael” in which the function of Rishon LeTzion continued to exist for the Sephardic Chief Rabbi, but to it was added an Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi. In the State of Israel, from 1948 and till our days, the Chief Rabbinate of the Country is managed by two Chief Rabbis, one Sephardic and the second Ashkenazi.

This collection can be searched via the JewishGen Israel Database, the JewishGen Jeff Malka Collection or the JewishGen Sephardic Collection.