Shlomo Moussaieff (rabbi)
| Shlomo Moussaieff | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Shlomo Moussaieff 1852 Bukhara, Emirate of Bukhara |
| Died | 1922 (aged 69–70) Jerusalem |
| Occupation | Merchant |
| Known for | One of the founders of the Bukharim neighborhood of Jerusalem |
Shlomo Moussaieff (1852 – 1922) was one of the founders of the Bukharim neighborhood in Jerusalem. He was also the patriarch of the Moussaieff clan, which includes such notable personalities as Shlomo Moussaieff of London, Dorrit Moussaieff of Iceland, and Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson.
Moussaieeff was born in the city of Bukhara in 1852, in what is today Uzbekistan. As a child, he studied under Rabbi David Chafin and Joshua Shushan. Joining him in his studies were Yosef Kohjinoff, Rafael Potihaloff, Moshe Cheh Yizhakoff, Avraham Aminoff Talmudi, and Aba Shimon Gaon. He was a learned man, with the honorary title of rabbi. As a merchant he engaged in the tea trade and real estate, and is said to have started one of the first banks in Bukhara. In 1888, motivated by religious convictions, he made aliyah to Palestine and was one of several Bukharan Jews responsible for founding the new Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehovot HaBukharim (later shortened to Bukharim) in 1891. He himself built a complex of apartments for use by 25 poor families, which included four synagogues. Today the Moussaieff complex of synagogues, which now numbers eight synagogues, is in continuous use.
In the prayer book which he authored, Hukat Olam, Moussaieff described his motivation in moving to Jerusalem and his religious conviction:
"I, Shlomo Moussaieff, native of Bukhara.. My spirit moved me to leave the land of my birth, in which I grew up, and to ascend to the Holy Land, the land in which our ancestors dwelled in happiness, the land whose memory passes before us ten times each day in our prayers...We do not have any festive occasion without a memorial to Jerusalem....There is no doubt that I am required to thank God for all the good he has done for me. He has brought me across the sea three times. He has kept me alive, and has brought me to the place of my desire for the good life and peace to see the pleasantness of God and to visit his sanctuary. If the temple was standing, I would bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Now because of our sins there is no temple and no priest to bring the sacrifice. Therefore I had the idea to help the many and publish these prayer books for the weekdays and Sabbath and holidays. Prayer is a substitute for sacrifice. Prayer to God is what connects Israel to their Father in Heaven, although the Israelite nation has been vanquished in exile for more than eighteen hundred years".
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