Boton, Meir ben Abraham di
BOTON, MEIR BEN ABRAHAM DI
BOTON, MEIR BEN ABRAHAM DI (c. 1575–1649), rabbi and halakhist. Born in Salonika, he studied under his father, Abraham. b. Moses di *Boton. In his introduction to his father's Leḥem Mishneh, he describes the trials and the expulsions he had experienced from his youth. He was appointed rabbi of Gallipoli and served there until his death. Students from all parts of Turkey, among them (Nissim) Solomon *Algazi, streamed to his yeshivah, which became a center of study. Even in his youth, Meir was in correspondence with the greatest halakhic authorities of the day, and problems were addressed to him even from Constantinople. He occupied himself to a considerable extent with communal affairs and also took an interest in poetry. After his death, his library was pillaged. The few responsa which remained in scattered pamphlets were collected and published with other material by his son-in-law, Jesse Almuli (Smyrna, 1660), who added his own valuable notes. Meir di Boton was a close friend of Ḥayyim *Benveniste, who mentions their correspondence in his Ba'ei Ḥayyei.
bibliography:
Conforte, Kore, 43a, 51b; Azulai, 1 (1852), 118, no. 6; Rosanes, Togarmah, 3 (1938), 197; Wallenstein, in: Melilah, 1 (1944), 62–65.