Raphael Meldola (1754 – 3 June 1828) was a Rabbi who served in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Born in Livorno, he died in London.
Raphael Meldola | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title | haham |
| Personal | |
| Born | Raphael Meldola 1754 |
| Died | June 1, 1828 (aged 73–74) |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Nationality | Sephardi |
| Spouse | Stella Bolaffi |
| Children | Rebecca (Rica) de Sola, Moses Meldola, David Meldola, Lea (Luna) Meldola, Abraham Meldola, Eleazar Meldola and Samuel Meldola |
| Parent | Moses Hezekiah Meldola |
| Occupation | Rabbi |
| Jewish leader | |
| Predecessor | Moses Cohen d'Azevedo |
| Position | Rabbi |
| Synagogue | Bevis Marks Synagogue London |
| Began | 1805 |
Biography
editFamily History and Education
editRaphael Meldola was descended from an old, Sephardi family originating in the 13th century from Toledo, Spain, and numbering many rabbis and scholars through the generations.[1] He was born in 1754 to Moses Hezekiah Meldola, a rabbi and also professor of oriental studies at the University of Paris, in Leghorn.[2][3][4] His grandfather was a haham (senior rabbi) in Pisa.[5]
Raphael originally worked as a printer before he received a thorough university training, both in theological and in secular studies. Over the course of his studies, he displayed such remarkable talents that when only 15 years old he was permitted to take his seat in the rabbinical college in Livorno.[6] He received his semicha (rabbinical degree) in 1796 from Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (commonly referred to as the 'Hida'), and in 1803 became a dayan (rabbinic judge).[5][7]
Rabbinic career
editIn 1805, Meldola was elected haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of Great Britain.[4][5][7] He arrived there following a long journey from Livorno on the eve of Rosh Hashana. In his first days, Meldola immediately and energetically embarked on a number of goals. Among them was improved collaboration and cooperation between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, and he persuaded the two communities to set up a joint board for shechita (ritual slaughtering). Another area he soon took up was to counteract the activities of missionaries and the reform movement.[8][9]
Meldola looked as well to ensure the dignity and proper execution of synagogue prayers—and he introduced what has become one of the most distinctive and appreciated qualities of the Spanish and Portuguese service: its choir.[10] "As an Italian," notes one biographer, "Meldola had been fond of music and had been the first person to introduce a choir into the London synagogue."[5]
Meldola died in London in June 1828.[2][3][6] One of his last requests were to be buried alongside his predecessor rabbi David Nietto in the Velho Cemetery.[11]
Strong in his beliefs and passionate in his expression of them, Meldola was remembered as "kind-hearted man, ever ready to lend a willing ear to tales of distress and to do his utmost to procure assistance." His name will ever be indissolubly associated with that of Bevis Marks Synagogue.
Publications
editPossessed of a remarkably virile mind, Meldola was a dominant factor in the British Jewry of his generation.
Meldola was the author of Qorban Minhah (1791) on the duties of the High Priest; Chuppat Chatanim (1797), an instruction manual to bridegrooms; and Derekh Emunah, published by his son after his death. He left 10 manuscript works, including an exposition of Jewish doctrine, rites, and beliefs.[3][6]
Meldola's scholarship attracted a circle that included some of the great men of his day, among them Benjamin Disraeli and Isaac D'Israeli; and it is noteworthy that he opposed the policy which produced the famous rupture between the latter and the mahamad.[3] He also maintained a correspondence with many of the most prominent Christian clergymen and scholars of his time; and his acquaintance with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Canon of Windsor led to his being received by King George III.[12]
Family life
editMeldola married Stella Bollaffi (Abulafia), with whom he had four sons and four daughters.[12] One daughter, Rica, married Hazan David Aaron de Sola who would later succeed Meldola at Bevis Marks.
Other descendants include Rabbi Abraham de Sola of the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue in Montreal; Rabbi Abraham Pereira Mendes, minister of Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island; Rabbi Henry Pereira Mendes, minister of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York; Rabbi Frederick de Sola Mendes, minister at the West End Synagogue; Rabbi David de Sola Pool, also a minister at Shearith Israel; and the chemist Raphael Meldola.
References
edit- ^ Gaster, Moses (1974). The Ketubah. Hermon Press. ISBN 978-0-87203-029-9.
- ^ a b Roth, Cecil (1971). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Encyclopaedia Judaica.
- ^ a b c d Landman, Isaac; Cohen, Simon (1942). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia ...: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated.
- ^ a b Jacobs, Joseph; Wolf, Lucien (1888). Catalogue of the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition, Royal Albert Hall, London, 1887. F. Haes.
- ^ a b c d BARNETT, RICHARD D. (1967). "Haham Meldola and Hazan de Sola". Transactions (Jewish Historical Society of England). 21. Jewish Historical Society of England: 1–38. JSTOR 29777989 – via JSTOR.
- ^ a b c Picciotto, James (1875). Sketches of Anglo-Jewish History. Trübner & Company.
- ^ a b Melodola, David (1828). The Gentleman's Magazine. E. Cave.
- ^ ha-folḳlor, Universiṭah ha-ʻIvrit bi-Yerushalayim Merkaz le-ḥeḳer (1970). מחקרי המרכז לחקר הפולקלור. Magnes, ha-Universiṭah ha-ʻIvrit.
- ^ Schreiber, Emanuel (1892). Reformed Judaism and Its Pioneers: A Contribution to Its History. Spokane Printing Company. ISBN 9781548767112.
- ^ Journal of Synagogue Music. Vol. 10. Cantors Assembly. 1980.
- ^ Tymms, Samuel (1832). Camden's Britannia Epitomized and Continued: Being a Compendious Account of the Antient and Present State of the Counties of England. Harvard University.
- ^ a b Gottheil, Richard; de Sola, Clarence I. (1906). "MELDOLA: 15. Raphael Meldola". www.jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Meldola". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
