Community Magazine June 2014

26 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE THE SEPHARDIC HERITAGE MUSEUM A LOOK INTO THE LIFE OF HaGaon HachamMordechai Abadi B orn in 1826 in Aleppo, Syria, Rabbi Mordechai Abadi seems to have had scholarly aspirations in his blood. As he mentions in his commentary on Psalms, Ne’im Zemirot , his grandfather, Avraham Abadi, was an accomplished scholar who, together with his son, Yaakov, had a profound influence on young Mordechai. Besides these two figures, the names of most of those who influenced and inspired Rabbi Abadi are mostly lost to the annals of history. Rabbi Moshe Swed zt”l , former Chief Rabbi of Aleppo, is the only one of his teachers whom Rabbi Abadi refers to in his writings. In one of his responsa, he refers to Hacham Swed as “the teacher of my youth, my master,” suggesting that Rabbi Swed was probably one of his main teachers, if not his primary mentor. FromAleppo to Turkey…and Back Again After growing up in Aleppo, Hacham Mordechai later moved to Kilis, Turkey, to serve as the rabbi of the community, returning to Syria later in life. The exact dates of his rabbinical tenure in Turkey are unknown. While it is commonly accepted that he remained in Kilis until his death, RabbiAbadi’s own writings clearly indicate otherwise. 1 The Abadi Family Rabbi Abadi had three sons – Shaul, Yaakov, and Avraham – and a daughter, Rivkah. His children faithfully followed in their father’s footsteps, and his grandchildren continued to bring honor to the Abadi name. His son,Avraham, was the proud father of HachamMatloubAbadi zt”l , who faithfully served the Syrian community of New York for nearly 50 years, and wrote the scholarly volume Magen Ba’adi . AMentor of Giants Many of Rabbi Abadi’s students went on to become towering scholars and authors. The impressive list of his students include: Rabbi YaakovHaimYisrael RaphaelAlfieh, who authored Rei’ah LeYitzhack ; Rabbi Yeshayah Dayan, who served as head of the rabbinical court in Aleppo and authored Zeh Ketav Yadi and several other important volumes; Rabbi Haim Shaul Dweck, a world-renowned Kabbalistic scholar and author of Eifah Shelemah, Pe’at Hasadeh and other LEON SAKKAL Last month’s issue initiated an exciting new column offering a glimpse of the outstanding work of the Sephardic Heritage Museum. This time, we take a look at what they’ve managed to uncover about another Sephardic sage – a man so great, so wise, and yet so unknown to many. We will explore the distinguished life and precious masterwork of HaGaon Hacham Mordechai Abadi zt”l, the esteemed author of numerous works, focusing on Ashrei Ha’am, whichwas recently printed from the rabbi’s oldmanuscripts by the hardworking experts of the Sephardic Heritage Museum. Much of the information is excerpted from the preface to Ashrei Ha’am. 1 See Preface to Ashrei Ha’am significant works of Kabbalah; Rabbi Yaakov Shaul Dweck, who succeeded Rabbi Mordechai as rabbi of Kilis and later became Chief Rabbi of Aleppo and head of the city’s rabbinical court; Rabbi Eliyahu Hamway, who served as head ofAleppo’s rabbinical court; Rabbi Shaul Sutton-Dabah, who became Chief Rabbi of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and authored an important book of responsa entitled Diber Shaul ; and Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Rofeh, who emigrated to Buenos Aires and authored Kol Mevaser . In that volume, Rabbi Rofeh writes that all the great scholars of his time were students of Rabbi Abadi! Priceless Volumes The names of two of Rabbi Abadi’s scholarly works begin with the word “ma’yan” (“fountain”): Ma’yan Mayim , a commentary on the Humash, and Ma’yan Ganim . In the introduction to Ma’yan Mayim , Rabbi Abadi explains that he purposely used the word “ma’yan” as part of the title to serve as an acronym for his and his father’s names: The mem stands for “Mordechai,” the ayin stands for “Abadi,” the yud stands for “Yaakov,” and the nun sofit stands for “ben,” or son – Mordechai Abadi, the son of Yaakob. Rabbi Abadi’s most celebrated work, Ma’yan Ganim , consists of lengthy, elaborate responsa that reveal his deep and penetrating analysis of the material and his vast breadth of knowledge of rabbinic literature. Rabbi Abadi was such a great scholar that Rabbi Ezra Attieh, Rosh Yeshivah of Porat Yosef, was effusive in his praise of him. In one of his letters, Rabbi Attieh says about Rabbi Mordechai, “Our master and teacher; the great and mighty gaon [genius], an overflowing wellspring; there is no one who can fathom the depths of his understanding, penetrating analysis and mighty Talmudic arguments; our master and the crown of our head, Rabbi Mordechai Abadi, whose name extends from one end of the world to the other!” Interestingly, in Ashrei Ha’am , which the Sephardic Heritage Museum is printing for the first time, Rabbi Abadi frequently mentions novellae that he composed for his scholarly work, Divrei Ha’am . Upon closer examination of Mayan Ganim , the museum staff discovered that the novellae that Rabbi Abadi mentions as being written in Divrei Ha’am actually appear in Mayan Ganim , suggesting that Ma’yan Ganim was originally meant to be titled Divrei Ha’am . Hacham Mordechai’s grandson, Hacham Matloub Abadi