Hakham Masʽud Hai Rakkaḥ | |
|---|---|
 Title page ofMaʽaseh Rokeaḥ, Volume 2, by Hakham Masʽoud Hai Rakkaḥ | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Masʽud Hai Rakkah 1690 |
| Died | July 24, 1768 (age 78) |
| Buried | Tripoli |
| Parent | Aharon Rakkah |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Position | Chief Rabbi andAv Beit Din |
| Organisation | Jewish community ofTripoli |
| Began | 1749 |
| Ended | 1768 |
| Yahrtzeit | 10Av 5528 |
Masʽud Hai Rakkaḥ (Hebrew:מסעוד חי רקח, 1690 – July 24, 1768),[1] also spelledRaccah, was aSephardiHakham andshadar (rabbinical emissary) who led the 18th-century Jewish community ofTripoli, Libya, for 20 years. He was considered one of Libya's leading rabbis and is credited with laying the foundation for that community's development into one of "sages, scribes, and kabbalists".[2] He is the author ofMaʽaseh Rokeaḥ (Hebrew:מעשה רקח), a four-volume commentary onMaimonides'sMishneh Torah.
Mas'ud Hai Rakkaḥ was born inSmyrna, Turkey,[3] the son of Aharon Rakkaḥ.[4] According to theEncyclopaedia Judaica, he was likely descended from the Rakkaḥ family ofVenice, and married the daughter of Isaac Rakkah.[5] In his youth, he studied under Rabbi Yitzhak Hacohen Rappaport and RabbiHayyim Abulafia, developing into aTalmid Chacham of note.[5][6] He emigrated toJerusalem with his teacher, Rabbi Rappaport.[4]
When the Jerusalem community experienced difficult economic times, it dispatchedshadarim (rabbinical emissaries) to collect funds from theJewish diaspora. Rakkaḥ was chosen to travel toJewish communities in North Africa. He set out forTunisia,Morocco, andLibya, and upon arriving inTripoli, sent letters to the communities ofVenice andLivorno before visiting them as well.[1]
Rakkaḥ arrived in Venice in 1729 and stayed for two years.[3] He next traveled to Livorno, residing there from 1731 to 1736[5] and serving as one of the city's leaders.[3]
The Libyan Jewish community at that time was at a spiritual nadir. Upon Rakkaḥ's return to Tripoli in 1749, the community leaders asked him to stay and lead them. Rakkaḥ agreed and was appointedAv Beit Din (head of the rabbinical court)[1] andChief Rabbi of Tripoli.[4][5] He opened ayeshiva in Tripoli and exerted a strong influence on all Libyan Jews.[6] Rakkaḥ was considered one of Libya's leading rabbis.[7] He trained students who became the futurehakhamim anddayanim (rabbinical judges) of North African Jewry, including HakhamimNathan Adadi (his son-in-law), Shalom Flus, Moshe Lachmish, Binyamin Vaturi, and David Tayyar.[3][5] Rakkaḥ's descendants further built the Libyan Jewish community, including his great-grandson,Abraham Hayyim Adadi,Av Beit Din of Tripoli,[8] and his great-great-grandson,Jacob Rakkah, a leading Sephardiposek (arbiter of Jewish law) and author of approximately 40sefarim.[9]
Rakkaḥ served the Libyan Jewish community for 20 years until his death on July 24, 1768 (10Av 5528) at the age of 78.[1] He is buried in Tripoli.[3]
Rakkaḥ saw the publication of the first volume of theMa'aseh Rokeaḥ (Hebrew:מעשה רקח),[10] his novellae and commentary on Maimonides'Mishneh Torah, in Venice in 1742-1743.[6] Volume 2 was published by his great-grandson,[11]Abraham Hayyim Adadi, in Livorno in 1862.[6] Volume 3 was published in Livorno in 1863 by his great-great-grandson,Jacob Rakkah.[6] Volume 4 was published in Jerusalem in 1964 by Rabbi Shmuel Akiva Yaffe-Schlesinger.[6] The inscription on Rakkaḥ's gravestone appears at the beginning of Volume 4.[6]
Rakkaḥ'snovellae on theTalmud, commentary on theFive Megillot, anddrashot (sermons) remained in handwritten manuscripts, some of which were lost.[5][6]
| Aharon Rakkah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mas'ud Hai Rakkah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yitzhak Rakkah | Nathan Adadi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baruh Rakkah | Mas'ud Hai Adadi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shilomo Rakkah | Abraham Hayyim Adadi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacob Rakkah | Zion Rakkah | Saul Adadi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abraham Rakkah | Meir Rakkah | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
