CARIGAL (Carregal, Karigal) RAPHAEL ḤAYYIM ISAAC

CARIGAL (Carregal, Karigal), RAPHAEL ḤAYYIM ISAAC (1729–1777), emissary of Hebron. Born in Hebron, Carigal was ordained in 1750 and was sent in 1754 by the Hebron Jewish community as an emissary to the Jewish communities in the Near East. In 1757, he visited Europe, and again returned to Italy during 1759 and 1760. Carigal arrived in Curaçao in 1762 and was at least the fourth emissary from Hebron to visit the island from 1750. The community, then the largest Jewish center in the Americas, conducted a massive appeal for his mission. He was also engaged as its visiting rabbi at 750 pesos annually, until then the highest salary paid a ḥakham in the Americas. In 1764, he returned to Hebron, and four years later again departed for Europe. In London Carigal was engaged as an instructor in Talmud. After he had spent 1771 in the Caribbeans, he arrived in Philadelphia in 1772. He preached in the synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island, on May 28, 1773, the first day of Shavuot, in the presence of the governor and magistrates. This sermon, written in Spanish, was translated into English and published by Abraham Lopez (Newport, 1773).

In Newport, he made the acquaintance of Ezra *Stiles, later to become president and professor of ecclesiastical history and divinity at Yale College. Stiles became his great admirer and frequently praised Carigal as an erudite talmudic scholar and a man of experience and dignity. They maintained an extensive correspondence over the ensuing years. On July 21, 1773, Carigal left for Surinam, sojourning there for over seven months before departing for Barbados, where he was engaged as ḥakham and officiated until his death. He left a widow and son in Hebron.

Liberal for his time, Carigal attended a church service in Newport and advocated love and brotherhood among all mankind. He covered a greater distance than any other emissary of his era. His portrait, first done in crayon, was painted in 1772 by Samuel King at the request of Ezra Stiles. Some of his correspondence was published by M. Benayahu (Oẓar Yehudei Sefarad, 1 (1959), 26–37).

bibliography:

G.A. Kohut, Ezra Stiles and the Jews (1902); S.F. Chyet, Carrigal Preaches in Newport (1966); I.S. Emmanuel, Precious Stones of the Jews of Curacao (1957), 480–3; Yaari, Sheluhei, 580–3; I.S. and S.A. Emmanuel, History of the Jews of the Netherlands Antilles, 1 (1970), 159, 249; A.J. Karp (ed.), Jewish Experience in America 1 (1969), index s.v. Karigal.