Abraham ben Isaac haLevi

Abraham ben Joseph (I) ha-Levi (after 1580–after 1618), the nephew of Solomon the Elder and cousin of Isaac (II), also established himself as a noted religious teacher in Salonica. A student of David Ibn Naḥmias (d. 1613) and Shabbetay Jonah, Ha-Levi wrote his first responsum in 1604, demonstrating his knowledge as a teacher and earning the praise of the former. He continued responding to queries even after fleeing Salonica the following year to escape the plague; later that year, he began teaching at one of the city’s seminaries. Some of his other responsa involved queries from his relative Solomon the Younger (1509) and Jewish communities such as Sofia (1509), Chios (1613–1616), and Amsterdam (1616). After his father’s death at the end of 1616, he focused mainly on teaching for the remaining few years of his life. His responsa were collected into ʿEn Mishpaṭ, which did not see publication for nearly three hundred years (Salonica, 1902). Another member of this family, Jacob ben Israel (d. 1636), moved from Salonica in order to serve as rabbi in Xanthi (İskeçe) and later went to Venice, where he published some works, including a translation of the Qurʾān from Arabic to Latin and Hebrew. He engaged also in business and accumulated considerable wealth.

D Gershon Lewental

Bibliography

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———, “Israel Among the Nations as Described by Solomon le-Beit ha-Levi of Salonika,” Zion 34 (1969): 43–44 [Hebrew].

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Cite this page

D Gershon Lewental. "Levi (Le-Vet Ha-Levi) Family, Salonica." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Brill Online, 2013. <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-...>