Judah Alkalai

Judah Alkalai

Judah ben Solomon Chai Alkalai (1798–October 1878) was a Sephardic rabbi in Semlin and one of pioneers of modern Zionism.

Alkalai studied in Jerusalem under different rabbis and came under the influence of the Kabbalah. In 1825 he became Rabbi of Semlin. [http://www.zionism-israel.com/bio/alkalai_biography.htm]

He became noted through his advocacy in favor of the restoration of the Jews to Palestine. By reason of some of his projects, he may justly be regarded as one of the precursors of the modern Zionists such as by Theodor Herzl.

Herzl's paternal grandfather Simon Loeb Herzl, reportedly attended the Alkalai's synagogue Semlin and the two frequently visited. Grandfather Simon Loeb Herzl "had his hands on" one of the first copies of Alkalai's 1857 work prescribing the "return of the Jews to the Holy Land and renewed glory of Jerusalem." Contemporary scholars conclude that Herzl's own implementation of modem Zionism was undoubtedly influenced by that relationship. [http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~peters/oriental.html] Herzl’s grandparents' graves in Semlin can still be visited. [http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=129]

His work, "Goral la-Adonai" (A Lot for the Lord), published at Vienna, in 1857, is a treatise on the restoration of the Jews, and suggests methods for the betterment of conditions in Palestine.

After a somewhat able homiletical discussion of the Messianic problem, in which he shows considerable knowledge of the traditional writers, Alkalai suggests the formation of a joint-stock company, such as a steamship or railroad trust, whose endeavor it should be to induce the "sultan" to cede Palestine to the Jews as a tributary country, on a plan similar to that on which the Danube principalities were governed.

To this suggestion are appended the commendations of numerous Jewish scholars of various schools of thought. The problem of the restoration of Palestine was also discussed by Alkalai in "Shema' Yisrael" (Hear, O Israel), 1861 or 1862, and in "Harbinger of Good Tidings" (compare "Jewish Chronicle", 1857, p. 1198, where his name is spelled Alkali).

In his "Shalom Yerushalayim" (The Peace of Jerusalem), 1840, he replies to those who attacked his book, "Darhei No'am" (The Pleasant Paths), which treated of the duty of tithes. Another work, "Minchat Yehudah" (The Offering of Judah), Vienna, 1843, is a panegyric on Montefiore and Crémieux, who had rescued the Jews of Damascus from a blood libel accusation.

See also

*Arthur Hertzberg
*Damascus affair

References

*JewishEncyclopedia


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  • Judah Alkalai — (auch Juda Alkalay, Jehuda ben Schelomo Chai oder Haj Alkalai; * 1798 in Sarajevo; † 1878 in Jerusalem) war längere Zeit Rabbiner in Semlin und ein früher Vorläufer des modernen, „politischen“ Zionismus. Leben Er wuchs in Jerusalem auf, kam als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • ALKALAI, DAVID — (1862–1933), founder and leader of the Zionist movement in Serbia and Yugoslavia. Alkalai, who was born in Belgrade, was a grandnephew of judah alkalai , whose granddaughter he married. He studied law in Vienna, where he joined the Zionist… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • ALKALAI, JUDAH BEN SOLOMON ḤAI — (1798–1878), Sephardi rabbi and precursor of modern Zionism. Alkalai was born in Sarajevo (then Bosnia) and brought up in Jerusalem, where he was strongly influenced by Sarajevo born R. Eliezer Papo. From 1825 until he again moved to Jerusalem in …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • ALKALAI, ABRAHAM BEN SAMUEL — (1750?–1811), Bulgarian rabbi and codifier. Alkalai, who was apparently born in Salonika, studied under his uncle Reuben b. Jacob, whose novellae he sometimes quotes in his works. He served as rabbi of Dupnitsa, where he also headed a yeshivah… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Judah — /jooh deuh/, n. 1. the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. Gen. 29:35. 2. one of the 12 tribes of Israel traditionally descended from him. 3. the Biblical kingdom of the Hebrews in S Palestine, including the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Cf. Ephraim… …   Universalium

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  • Judah — (as used in expressions) Alkalai, Judah ben Solomon Hai Benjamin, Judah P(hilip) Eleazar ben Judah de Worms Eleazar ben Judah ben Kalonymos Ibn Tibbon, Judah ben Saul Magnes, Judah León …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alkalai, Judah ben-Solomon Hai — (1798–1878)    Serbian forerunner of Zionism. Alkalai was the rabbi of the Sephardi Ladino speaking community in Sarajevo. In a series of pamphlets and articles, he contended on religious grounds that a return of the Jews to the Holy Land had to… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Alkalai, Judah ben Solomon Hai — (1798, Sarajevo, Bosnia, Imperio otomano–1878, Jerusalén). Rabino sefardita. Criado en Jerusalén, se convirtió en rabino en Semlín, Croacia. Alkalai argumentaba que era necesario para la salvación del pueblo judío, el retorno físico a Israel… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alkalai, Judah Solomon Hai — (1798 1878)    Bosnian Zionist. He was born in Sarajevo. As rabbi to the Sephardi congregation in Semlin, near Belgrade, he encouraged Jewish settlement in Palestine. In 1874 he settled in Jerusalem. His writings supported a return to Israel on… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

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