Chaim Joseph David Azulai
| Haim Yosef David Azulai | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 1724 Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 1 March 1806 (aged 81–82) Livorno, Etruria |
| Children |
Raphael Isaiah Azulai, Abraham Azulai |
| Signature |  |
Haim Yosef David Azulai ben Yitzhak Zerachia (1724 – 1 March 1806) (Hebrew: חיים יוסף דוד אזולאי), commonly known as the Hida (the acronym of his name, חיד"א), was a Jerusalem born rabbinical scholar, a noted bibliophile, and a pioneer in the publication of Jewish religious writings.
Some have speculated that his family name, Azulai, is an acronym based on being a Kohen: אשה זנה וחללה לא יקח (Leviticus,21:7), a biblical restriction on whom a Kohen may marry. However, there is no contemporary source for this claim.
Haim Yosef David Azulai was born in Jerusalem, where he received his education from some local prominent scholars. He was the scion of a prominent rabbinic family, the great-great-grandson of Moroccan Rabbi Abraham Azulai. The Yosef part of his name came from his mother's father, Rabbi Yosef Bialer, a German scholar.
His main teachers were the Yishuv haYashan rabbis Isaac HaKohen Rapoport, Shalom Sharabi, and Haim ibn Attar (the Ohr HaHaim). At an early age he showed proficiency in Talmud, Kabbalah, and Jewish history, and "by the age of 12 he was already composing chiddushim on Hilchos Melichah."
In 1755, he was—on the basis of his scholarship—elected to become an emissary (shaliach) for the small Jewish community in the Land of Israel, and he would travel around Europe extensively, making an impression in every Jewish community that he visited. According to some records, he left the Land of Israel three times (1755, 1770, and 1781), living in Hebron in the meantime. His travels took him to Western Europe, North Africa, and—according to legend—to Lithuania, where he met the Vilna Gaon.
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