Abraham Palacci
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Hakham Abraham Palacci |
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Abraham Palacci
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| Born | 1809 or 1810 Smyrna (İzmir) |
| Died | January 2, 1899 Smyrna (İzmir) |
| Burial place | Izmir |
| Other names | Avraham Palacci, Abraham Palaggi, Avraham Palaggi, Avraham Palagi, etc. |
| Parent(s) | Haim Palachi |
| Relatives | Brothers Isaac (Rahamim Nissim Palacci) and Joseph Palacci |
| Family | Pallache family |
| Awards | Order of Osmaniye, Order of St. Sauveur |
Abraham Palacci (1809 or 1810–January 2, 1898) was a grand rabbi and author (in Ladino and Hebrew) of Izmir, was the son of grand rabbi Haim Palachi and brother of grand rabbi Rahamim Nissim Palacci and rabbi Joseph Palacci. He came from the Pallache family.
Abraham Palacci was the son of Lastrolh and Haim Palacci, who was grand rabbi of Izmir before him. He studied at Beth Jacob Rabbi in Izmir. Like his father, he began writing essays at an early age. He helped his father write and print books.
Upon the death of his father in 1868, Palacci was appointed grand rabbi of Izmir, a position he held for thirty years until his death in 1898. Some dispute arose over Palachi's succession. A minority in the local community championed Rabbi Joseph Hakim of Manissa to succeed. A majority wanted son Abraham to succeed him, including Jews with foreign citizenship. Abraham succeeded his father on October 7, 1869. He promoted modern education.
In 1892, Palacci became honorary president of the Izmir city planning committee.
Palacci married Sara. When she died he remarried. He had two sons named Solomon and Nissim and two daughters. Through marriage, he was related to Rabbi Moshe Hacohen of Djerba, Tunisia.
He died on January 2, 1899.
Youngest brother Joseph Palacci was to succeed his brothers as grand rabbi but proved too young (under seventy-five) under current law. Instead, Solomon, one of Abraham's sons, was nominated to succeed. Due to Solomon's credentials (weak in scholarship, discordant in community), tension arose, and Joseph Eli (died 1906) was nominated. To end the dispute, Solomon received another position in the rabbinate and Joseph Eli succeeded briefly (1899-1900). Finally, Joseph ben Samuel Bensenior (1837–1913) succeeded as grand rabbi in December 1900.
A synagogue in Izmir is named after him (Beth Hillel Synagogue according to Shaw, Beyt Hillel Pallache according to Lewental) or his son Abraham.
According to Jewish Izmir Heritage, "In the 19th century, Rabbi Avraham Palache founded in his home a synagogue named Beit Hillel, after the philanthropist from Bucharest who supported the publication of Rabbi Palache's books. However, the name 'Avraham Palache Synagogue' was also used by the community." This synagogue forms a cluster of eight extant (from a recorded peak of 34 in the 19th Century), all adjacent or in the Kemeraltı Çaršisi (Kemeraltı marketplace) in Izmir. The heritage organization states, "Izmir is the only city in the world in which an unusual cluster of synagogues bearing a typical medieval Spanish architectural style is preserved ...[and] creating an historical architectural complex unique in the world."
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Wikipedia