CORCOS

CORCOS , family originally from Corcos in the province of Valladolid, Castile. The scholar abraham corcos (c. 1275) lived in Castile; his son, solomon corcos (d. after 1331), a disciple of Judah b. Asher, wrote a commentary on the astronomical work Yesod Olam of Isaac *Israeli in Avila. The wealthy financier judah ben abraham corcos (d. after 1493) of Zamora settled in Portugal in 1492. After 1492 members of the family were established in Italy and in Fez.

abraham, Ḥayyim, yose and joshua corcos were among the leaders of the "Spanish Exiles" in Morocco. joshua (d. after 1552) vigorously defended the "Castillanos" in the question of ritual slaughter traditions. A rabbinical authority, he was one of the promoters and signatories of the takkanot which determined the social and religious organization of the "Exiles of Castile" in Morocco. Renowned for his erudition and his piety, moses ben abraham corcos (d. c. 1575) of Fez was appointed dayyan in Tunis, where his tomb is still the object of pilgrimage. One of the rabbinical authorities of Fez, joseph corcos (d. c. 1710) had many disciples, several of whom achieved fame. joseph ben joshua corcos (d. after 1800) lived in Gibraltar for some time and there he wrote his Shi'ur Komah (Leghorn, 1809; Jerusalem, 1934) which was regularly read in Morocco on Sabbath afternoons. He also wrote a homiletic work Yosef Ḥen (Leghorn, 1825). abraham ben moses corcos (d. c. 1778), a talmudist, left several works of which only some decisions and a partially published work of responsa entitled Ginnat Veradim are extant. joseph corcos known also as Maharik (Morenu ha-Rav R. Joseph Corcos; d. after 1575) was a Spanish-born talmudist. He traveled to Egypt, where he was head of a yeshivah, and finally settled in Ereẓ Israel, He wrote a commentary on the Yad ha-Ḥazakah of *Maimonides; several extracts have been published on Sefer Zera'im. His brother (?) isaac corcos (d. before 1540), first was rabbi in Egypt and later appointed dayyan in Jerusalem, where he was succeeded by his son Solomon. maimon ben isaac corcos (d. 1799), one of the founders of the community of Mogador and an influential merchant, was one of the pillars of British politics in Morocco. solomon ben abraham corcos (d. 1854) was banker and adviser to the sultan. He was accredited as consular agent of Great Britain from 1822. His sons jacob (d. 1878) and abraham (d. 1883), were entrusted with important missions by three successive sultans. In 1862 Abraham was appointed U.S. consul in Mogador. His influence at the palace of the sultan enabled him to considerably facilitate the mission of Sir Moses *Montefiore whom he received in Morocco. meyer ben abraham corcos (d. 1929) was appointed U.S. consul in 1884. He wrote Ben Me'ir (2 vols. 1912 and 1925) on the laws of the Sabbath and Passover. stella corcos (1857–1948) was born in New York and married moses corcos (d. 1903). She settled in Mogador, where she founded a free Jewish school which taught in English. She contested the growing influence of the Protestant missions over poverty-stricken Jews. She was the representative of the *Anglo-Jewish Association. Ḥayyim benjacob (d. 1923), philanthropist and scholar, supported many yeshivot in Morocco. montefiore corcos (d. 1958), a pilot in World War i was a wing-commander in the Royal Air Force during World War ii. joshua ben Ḥayyim corcos (d. 1929), banker of the sultans and their advisers, played an important political role from 1885 to 1912. fernand corcos (1875–1956), advocate and active Zionist, defended the rights of the Jews of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. He wrote Le Sionisme au Travail (2 vols., 1923 and 1925), as well as 15 volumes of international studies.

bibliography:

rej (1910), index to vols. 1–50, s.v.Corcos, Carcause, Qorquossah; Régné, ibid., 63 (1912), 79–80; 65 (1913), 221f.; 68 (1914), 216; 69 (1919), 163, 189; J.M. Toledano, Ner ha-Ma'arav (1911), index; J. Ben-Naim, Malkhei Rabbanan (1931), passim; Baer, Urkunden, index, s.v.Corcos, Caracosa, Carcosa; Feldmann, in: Sinai, 58 (1966), 30–51; D. Grandchamp, La France en Tunisie de la fin du xvi siècle… (1920–30), viii, 221, ix, 33, 35; Hirschberg, Afrikah, 2 (1965), 308, 310, 369; Miège, Maroc, passim.