Levi ibn Habib | |
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| Personal life | |
| Born | c. 1480 |
| Died | c. 1545 Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire |
| Nationality |  Ottoman Empire |
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| Other names | HaRaLBaCh |
| Occupation | Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem |
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Levi ibn Habib (c. 1480 – c. 1545), also known by the acronymHaRaLBaCh, wasChief Rabbi of Jerusalem from 1525 until his death.
UnderKing Manuel ofPortugal, and when about seventeen, he was compelled to submit tobaptism, but at the first opportunity fled toSalonica, where he could follow the dictates of his conscience in safety. In 1523 he went to Jerusalem, but in a short time returned to Salonica. In 1525 he settled permanently in Jerusalem, where his learning won him the position of chief rabbi. There he metJacob Berab, with whom he often came into conflict on questions of rabbinical law. A serious quarrel broke out between these two rabbis when Berab, becoming chief rabbi ofSafed, reintroduced the ancient practice of thesemikhah (rabbinical ordination). They carried on a bitter and envenomed controversy for some time, in the course of which Berab referred to Ibn Habib's adoption of Christianity. The latter frankly admitted the fact, but pointed out that at the time he was a mere youth, that his involuntary profession of Christianity lasted hardly a year, and that he took the first opportunity to escape and rejoin the religion of his fathers. This controversy was chiefly responsible for the fact that the practice of ordination ceased again soon after Berab's death.
He was knowledgeable inmathematics andastronomy. In his youth he edited his father's bookEin Yaakov (Constantinople, 1516; byJacob ibn Habib). He wrote:She'elot u-Teshubot, a collection of 147responsa;Kontres ha-Semikah, a treatise on ordination;Perush Kiddush HaChodesh, a commentary onHilchotKiddush HaChodesh (rules governing the construction of theHebrew calendar inMaimonides' code of law). All these works were published together inVenice (1565); the last-named work was also published separately (ib. 1574-76).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Habib, Levi ben Jacob ibn".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Its bibliography:| Jewish titles | ||
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| New title | Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem 1525–1540 | Succeeded by |
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