Algazi
ALGAZI
ALGAZI , family which flourished between the 16th and 19th centuries in Turkey, Crete, Ereẓ Israel, and Egypt, and produced a large number of rabbis, kabbalists, and authors. Its members include (1) abraham ben moses (1560?–before 1640), born in Constantinople, son-in-law of Joseph Benveniste de *Segovia, a pupil of Isaac Luria. A renowned talmudic scholar, he corresponded with the greatest of his contemporaries. After 1600, he resided on the island of *Chios and in Brusa (now *Bursa), Turkey, where he headed the community until his death. (nissim) solomon *algazi, Ḥayyim, Moses, and Joseph were his sons. (2) Ḥayyim ben abraham (?) (1614–before 1668), a Turkish scholar who studied under Joseph di *Trani and Abraham *Shalom in Constantinople, where he later headed his own yeshivah. He was the son-in-law of Judah ibn Ya'ish. His uncompleted commentary, Netivot Mishpat, to the Meisharim of Jehoram b. *Meshullam was published in Constantinople in 1669. His manuscript responsa and homilies were lost. (3) moses ben abraham (d. before 1671) was one of the scholars of Bursa. Some of his novellae were published in his grandfather Joseph de Segovia's work, Dovev Siftei Yeshenim (Smyrna, 1671) to which was appended his booklet, Sefat Emet. (4) yom tov ben (nissim) solomon (d. 1727), a poet, lived in Constantinople. Letters and poems from his correspondence with the rabbi-poet Aaron de Toledo are extant. israel jacob b. yom tov *algazi was his son. (5) abraham ben (nissim) solomon (d. 1700), one of the scholars of Smyrna, edited his father's Shema Shelomo (Smyrna, 1659). (6) Ḥayyim ben menahem (1640?–1710?), grandson of R. Ḥayyim Alfandari the Elder, was born in Smyrna. He studied under (Nissim) Solomon and Aaron *Lapapa. He served as rabbi of Rhodes and, after his son Abraham's death, returned to Smyrna. One of his students, Meir Danon, edited and published his Ba'ei Ḥayyei (Constantinople, 1712), novellae on Jacob b. Asher's Turim, on the Talmud, and on problems in Maimonides' Mishneh Torah. His manuscript homilies were lost. (7) nissim jacob ben Ḥayyim solomon, one of the scholars of Constantinople, settled in Safed. He visited Salonika in 1731 as emissary for Safed, returning by 1736. He is the author of responsa and novellae on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah (Ms. in Benayahu Collection). (8) solomon ben abraham *algazi (1673–1762) was rabbi and codifier. (9) isaac ben abraham (17th century), rabbi of Chios, studied under Ḥayyim *Benveniste, author of the Keneset ha-Gedolah, and (Nissim) Solomon Algazi. At the age of 17, he wrote Doresh Tov, a book of homilies. His manuscript responsa are in the Guenzburg collection in Moscow (no. 400). Some of his responsa were published with those of Ḥayyim Benveniste, Ba'ei Ḥayyei. (10) yom tov b. jacob *algazi (1727–1802) was a kabbalist and master of halakhah. (11) Ḥayyim isaac (d. 1814) was chief rabbi of Smyrna in the late 18th century. (12) judah, a rabbi in Smyrna, visited Ereẓ Israel. His commentary to Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, explanations of talmudic discussions, and homilies were published together as Sha'ar Yehudah (Salonika, 1805). Some of his manuscript works were lost. (13) moses ben joseph (1764–1840), a grandson of Solomon b. Abraham (8), was born and died in Cairo; in 1830, he was appointed chief rabbi of Egypt. That same year, with Adolphe *Crémieux's aid, he founded a modern school to which he also admitted Karaites. In 1840, he helped liberate the victims of the *Damascus blood libel. He was succeeded by his son Joseph.
bibliography:
Azulai, 1 (1852), 163, no. 23; M. Benayahu, Rabbi Ḥ.Y.D. Azulai (Heb., 1959), 571, no. 39 (on Solomon ii b. Abraham).