The Rabbis of Rhodes

The Kahal Grande (Kahal Kadosh Gadol) of Rhodes before its destruction in WWII. Rhodesli Jewish Calendar November 2020.

The Jewish communities of the Ottoman Empire operated as self-governing bodies, known as “millets“.  The Jews of Rhodes organized and conducted their communal life according to the teachings of the Jewish traditions.

Because they were so involved with Jewish law and custom, it was necessary for them to have teachers and scholars who could interpret and clarify the requirements of these laws.  Consequently, the rabbinic authorities were held in high regard and respect.

A “Chief Rabbi” was assigned to lead the rabbinic authorities.  For centuries, the small Sephardic community of Rhodes was fortunate in having a number of additional religious scholars.  There were many rabbis and “hahams” in Rhodes to serve the community.

Rhodes was always known for its traditional observance of Judaism.  In fact, from 1927 to 1937, Rhodes maintained a Rabbinical College which served the Aegean Sea area.

The Chief Rabbi of Rhodes from 1922 to 1932 was Reuben Eliahu Israel. He was the 12th descendant of the same religiously prominent family to serve as Rabbis, a succession which lasted over 200 years.  Rabbi Israel devoted a great part of his life to the translation in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) of psalms, proverbs, poems and religious works, such as the “Kryiat de Izhak” (The Sacrifice of Isaac) and the “Pirke Avot” (The Sayings of Our Fathers).

 

 

In 1936 to 1939, Rabbi Michel Albagli served as the Chief Rabbi. He eventually left Rhodes to serve the Jewish communities in the US.

 

 

4 Rabbis who served during the early 20th Century

Rabbi Codron rabbi-yehuda-moshe-franco rabbi-yakov-capuya      rabbi-reuben-eliahu-israel
Rabbi Chilebi Nissim Codron Rabbi Yehuda Moshe Franco Rabbi Yakov Capuya Rabbi Reuben Eliahu Israel

The Rabbinical College

For centuries, the Jewish community of Rhodes held an important position both religiously and geographically.  It was home to the Romaniot Jewish community and later to the Sephardic Jewish community.  It was an “in-between” position for various Jewish communities of the Aegean Sea and Europe to the Holy Land.  It also developed an increased measure of importance relating to questions (“responsas”) for interpreting Jewish laws and practices.

In 1928 the Rabbinical College was established as the natural need for the development of a center for spiritual learning.  The school attracted professors and students from several countries and earned an international reputation.  Its graduates have played important roles in several Jewish communities.

Originally, the Rabbinical College was located in the Old City of Rhodes in the Jewish Quarter.  Later it was moved to larger premises in the New City of Rhodes.

In 1938 the College was closed down when the anti-Jewish laws were passed by the Governor of Rhodes.  In its relatively short existence, it had become one of the leading rabbinical seminaries among Sephardic communities.

1934 Rabbinical College of Rhodes

rabbinical-college-of-rhodes Students and Professors, left to right:Top row: Albert Fintz, Jacques Taraboulos, Moise Capelouto, Herzl Cohen, Rafael Capelouto, Haim Menashe, Moise Israel, Aron Angel and Moise Levy.
2nd row: Henri Camhi, David Harari, Prof. Calabro, Prof. Bergman, Prof. Marcus, Michel Sidis and Jacques Camhi.
Front row: Samuel Levy, Samuel Cohen, Prof. Breger, Director Pacifici, Prof. Azus, Robert Hanan and Haim Aboulafia.

1934 Diploma

Diploma of Rabbi Michael Albagli. He was born in Izmir, Turkey and graduated from the Rabbinical College in Rhodes. He later served as the Rabbi for the Rhodes Jewish communities of Los Angeles, California and later in Portland, Oregon. diploma
study-room reading-table professors
A study room of the Rabbinical College. This was a time when the Italian government was tolerant of Jewish activities. This is the reading table (known as the “teva”), which was used by the students for religious study. Professors, sitting, left to right: Rabbi Marcus Breger (Prof. of the Talmud), Riccardo Pacifici (the Director) and Shlomo Azus (Prof. of Shohet and Mohel). Standing left to right: Mr. C. Calabro (Prof. of Mathematics), Mr. F. Bergmann (Prof. of French) and Mr. Simon Marcus (Prof. of Hebrew).

The 3 Locations of the Rabbinical College

The first location was within the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and the last two were in the New City.

  college rabbinical-college last-location
  For a few years the College was housed in a building built by the Crusaders (the Hospice of Saint Catherine). The Rabbinical College located in the New City of Rhodes with the Aegean Sea in the background. Photo of the last location of the College, also located in the New City until it was closed in 1938.

1934 list of the Rabbinical students of Rhodes and their city of origin:

Name City
Aboulafia, Haim Izmir
Angel, Aharon Bourgas
Camhi, Jacques Alexandria
Capelouto, Moise Island of Cos
Capelouto, Raphael Rhodes
Cohen, Herzl Rhodes
Cohen, Samuel Izmir
Fintz, Albert Andrinople
Hanan, Robert Rhodes
Harari, David Alexandria
Iakoel, Moise Alexandria
Israel, Moise Rhodes
Kamri, Henri Cairo
Levy, Moise Rhodes
Levy, Samuel Rhodes
Menashe, Haim Rhodes
Romano, Maurice Sarajevo
Sidis, Michel Rhodes
Sutton, Mourad Aleppo
Taraboulos, Jacque Cairo

funeral-procession-of-chief-rabbi-reuben-eliahu-israel
1932 of the funeral procession of Chief Rabbi Reuben Eliahu Israel.

The Extraordinary Israel Family Rabbinical Lineage

There was a unique family on the island of Rhodes which provided the Jewish community with a lineage of rabbis, all coming from the Israel family.  Please find below two charts of this family which has been compiled by Leon Taranto.

Israel6generations

MosheIsrael4Gen

HaimYehudaIsrael 17-09-07

 

 

Tombs of the Rabbis

In the Jewish cemetery of Rhodes there is a separate section reserved for the Rabbis.  After entering the cemetery, it is the row of tombstones located immediately on the left after entering the cemetery.  To view the Rabbi tombstones and their inscriptions: https://www.rhodesjewishmuseum.org/cemetery/tombs-of-the-rabbis/

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David Antebi
David Antebi
3 years ago

Encontré finalmente la tumba de Rabi Nissim Codron, logré llegar antes de la puesta del sol y así poder rezar en el mismo día de su fallecimiento

David Antebi
David Antebi
3 years ago

Hola a todos! Estoy en Tiberias tratando de localizar la tumba del rabino Nissim Codron, pero sin éxito, a ver si alguien me ayuda, muchas gracias. Mi email es: daviantebi@gmail.com

Ben Levy
Ben Levy
4 years ago

Dear Keith Codron: I apologize for not seeing your response until now, more than a year after your message. I do not know where in Rhodes Chilibi lived prior to moving to Tiberias. However, I was back in Israel a few weeks ago and visited Chilibi’s grave. I’d be happy to send you photos if you send me an email at bzlevy88@gmail.com. I am traveling to Rhodes with my family in a few days (July 4, 2019), so if I learn more about Chilibi, I will let you know.
Ben

tom klein
tom klein
4 years ago

hi, are there any more records/photographs of the rabbinic college’s students, possibly a little earlier? i’d like to confirm whether or not a cousin attended there.

Keith Codron
5 years ago

Dear Ben, I am likewise the great-great-grandson of Rabbi Nissim Chilibi Codron. My grandfather was Shlomo (“Solomon”) Codron, who was born in Rhodes in 1889, and who left there for New York City in 1909. My grandmother was Victoria ben Veniste, who also left Rhodes for New York the same year. My father was Isaac Codron, born in NYC in 1925, and died in 1995. In any event, I am most interested to know if you located Chilibi’s gravesite in Tiberias, and, if so, whether you have a photograph of it? Also, I will be traveling to Rhodes in July… Read more »

Ben Levy
Ben Levy
5 years ago

I am the great great grandson of Rabbi Nissim Chilibi Codron, like a few others who posted below. I am traveling to Israel in a few days and would like to visit Chilibi’s gravesite in Tiberias. I would greatly appreciate any information that would help me locate his grave. My email is bzlevy88@gmail.com. Thank you.

Silvina Capuya
Silvina Capuya
6 years ago

Mi nombre es Silvina Capuya, soy nieta de Roberto Capuya (hijo de Isaac y nieto del Rabbi Yacov Capuya) y Matilde Avram (Mazal por parte de madre). Estoy interesada en armar el árbol genealógico. Si alguien tiene información agradeceré me escriban a scapuya@gmail.com.
Gracias! Silvina.

Lauren Lederman
Lauren Lederman
7 years ago

To the previous moment by David Israel: my grandmother’s grandparents were Rahamim and Sol Franco, I am also related to Rabbi Moshe Franco so it seems we are family! I know you wrote in 2014 but should you see this, I would like to be in touch! Please contact me – lrlederman@gmail.com

Meir G. Gover
Meir G. Gover
8 years ago

This is to Samuel Levy: If your dad Moise is from Rhodes, Please contact me. mggover@gmail.com
Meir G. Gover. Tel Aviv

Meir G. Gover
Meir G. Gover
8 years ago

to Bob Levy: Bob, you wrote that your dad Elie Levy is from Rhodes. Did you take the low cost Y37 Y chromosome saliva test @ FTDNA.com? I have a branch on my paternal side who arrived in Salonika 16th cen. from Spain. I wonder if you carry the same Y Haplogroup which I carry. Happy Purim to all.
Please contact me: mggover@gmail.com Meir G. Gover, Tel Aviv

Myriam Alhadeff Feldman
Myriam Alhadeff Feldman
8 years ago

Hello Bob. I am the daughter of David and Perla Alhadeff. My father was the nephew of your grandmother Lea, son of her sister Rachel, and the brother of Marie. My parents lived in Lubumbashi (Elisabethville), Congo and Rome, Italy.

Rabbi Chilibi Codron is my great-great grand father on my mother side and my great grandfather on my father side.

Bob Levy
Bob Levy
8 years ago

Keith, it is very interesting to find relatives who descended from my Great Granfather, Rabbi Nissim (Papu) Chilibi Codron. His daughter Lea was my maternal grandmother. Lea married Solomon Amato and had 7 children. My mother, Violette married Elie Levy, also from Rhodes. They were able to leave Rhodes in 1936. My mother left with her mother to stay with my uncle Issac Amato in Paris until she moved to Elizabethville to marry. They had 2 children, Rica and Solomon, and in 1947 they emigrated to Atlanta, GA where my mother had another brother and 3 sisters. I am the… Read more »

Keith Codron
8 years ago

Like Rabbi Yosi Aronson, I am also a great-great-grandson of Rabbi Nissim Chilibi Codron. My grandfather was Solomon (“Shlomo”) Codron, who was born in Rhodes in 1889, and emigrated to New York City in 1909 at the age of 20. I believe that Nissim’s son was named Isaac. After Isaac’s first wife died, Isaac married Rika, per Jewish law or custom. Solomon was the son of Isaac’s second wife, Rika, Solomon married Victoria Ben-Veniste in 1909, in New York. Victoria was also born and raised in Rhodes, and her marriage to my grandfather was arranged in Rhodes, though the marriage… Read more »

Renee Rousso Chernin
Renee Rousso Chernin
9 years ago

Rabbi Nissim Chilibi Codron’s yharzeit is this coming week, the 26 of Shevat which falls on Sun. Feb 15, 2015. He was a righteous person from Rhodes, so I plan on visiting his grave in the old cemetery in Tiberias on the yahrzeit. If any Codron family would like me to mention their name at the graveside I will be happy to. He was related to some Roussos. I’m not sure if they were my family, though. I would also be interested to know something about Rabbi Codron. It is said he was very close to Rabbi Avraham Abuchatzeira, who… Read more »

Rabbi Yosi Aronson
Rabbi Yosi Aronson
9 years ago

I am the great great grandson of Rabbi Nissim Chilibi Codron. He immigrated to Israel around 1900 and passed away in 1906. I found his grave in the old cemetery in Tiberius.

Bettina Benatar
Bettina Benatar
9 years ago

This is a reply to Samuel Levy: Would you please contact me per email: hub.luetgerath@t-online.de. We are related and I had spoken to an elderly greek man living in Rhodes about your mother a few years ago.
Bettina

Samuel Levy
Samuel Levy
9 years ago

I am the son of Moise and Solly (Sol Benatar) Levy. My mother was the daughter of Mussa and Mathilda Benatar the parents of Gabriel, Joseph, David and Michael.
Kol Hakavod for the great job. Samuel

Ron Israel
Ron Israel
9 years ago

I, too, am a descendant of Rabbi Reuben Eliahu Israel. He was my 3rd great uncle (the uncle of my paternal grandfather, Morris N. Israel). I am so proud to be part of this great legacy and marvel at all the information about our family. Marisa Dichter–we must be cousins. I trust you completed your college paper! Did you get dual citizenship? Alessandra Franco–I live in Carlsbad, CA, just up the road from you. (I believe you are my first cousin twice removed’s husband’s second cousin once removed–we connect through the Capouya’s to the Galante’s to the Mayo’s (my maternal… Read more »

Sharon
Sharon
9 years ago

Hi Aron, Thank you for this wonderful site, I have been reading it for 3 hours now, and it is facsinating. I think there was one more rabbi who served the community between 1911-1912, that was Yehuda Nissim Danon who came from Jerusalem. He was my great grandfather. In my family, we don`t have too much information about his mission to Rhodos, except that it was short, and during his mission there, my grandfather was born, and was named after the Italian king Vittorio Emmanuelle (probably a family legend because his name was Yaakov…) and by being born in Rhodos,… Read more »

aron
Admin
10 years ago

Hi Karen. There was a Romano Jewish family (Jacob, the son of Haim) who lived on the island of Cos (Kos) which is near the island of Rhodes. I will send you a document of that family from 1927. Good luck with your family research.