Sebag
SEBAG
SEBAG , surname widely used in North Africa, particularly in *Morocco. hananiah sebag (d. after 1570) was a wealthy merchant in *Fez; the problem of his inheritance preoccupied the dayyanim of both the megorashim and the toshavim. Their legal conclusions became law in the rabbinical tribunals of Morocco. The family subsequently settled in *Meknès, *Marrakesh, and in *Mogador (c. 1770). R. isaac ben abraham sebag (d. after 1725), scholar, poet, and dayyan in Meknès, wrote Shir Yedidut ("Song of Friendship"), well-known piyyutim in Morocco. R. solomon ben shalom sebag (d. 1780), dayyan in Marrakesh, was well known as a talmudist and legal authority. A number of his decisions were published in the responsa of various Moroccan rabbis. solomon sebag (d. before 1790), a leader of the Meknès community, was wealthy and one of the benefactors of his community. The poet David b. Hassine dedicated some of his poems, published in Tehillah le-David ("Praise of David," Amsterdam, 1807), to him. solomon ben masʿud ben abraham sebag (fl. early 19th cent.), born in Mogador, was sent to *London in 1799 to manage the family's business. His success enabled him to publish several works in English and Hebrew by Moroccan authors, among them the above-mentioned Tehillah le-David and An Historical Account of the Ten Tribes (London, 1836) by Moses *Edrehi. He was also the official secretary to his uncle Meir *Macnin, the Moroccan ambassador. In 1813, Sebag married Sarah, the elder sister of Sir Moses *Montefiore. His son joseph added Montefiore to his own name, thus founding the Sebag-Montefiore family. judah ben masʿud (1832–1923), born in *Lisbon, lived in *Brazil for many years and amassed a considerable fortune there. In about 1890 he settled in Mogador, the place of his family's origin, and became one of its most prominent leaders. He was politically active on behalf of his coreligionists, who benefited from his generosity.
bibliography:
J. Toledano, Ner ha-Ma'arav (1911), 132, 146, 165, 190; J. Ben-Naim, Malkhei Rabbanan (1931), 74b, 76b, 114b, 117b.
[David Corcos]