Let us take a look at the distinguished life, and precious masterwork of HaGaon Hacham Mordechai Abadi zt”l, the esteemed author of multiple sefarim such as Ma’yan Mayim and Ma’yan Ganim. We will zero in on the life of the Rabbi, as well as his Sefer Ashrei Ha’am, recently printed from the Rabbi’s old manuscripts by the hardworking experts of the Sephardic Heritage Museum.
The Early Years of Hacham Mordechai Abadi zt”l
Born in 1826 in Aleppo, Syria, Rabbi Abadi seems to have had scholarly aspirations in his blood. As seen from his commentary on Psalms, Ne’eim Zemirot, his grandfather was named Abraham Abadi, who appears to have been a worthy talmid hacham in his own rite. Abraham Abadi’s son, Yaakob, was the father of our focus, Hacham Mordechai.
Other than his father and grandfather, the names of those who influenced and inspired Rabbi Abadi are mostly lost to the annals of history. Rabbi Moshe Swed zt”l, former chief rabbi of Aleppo, is the only one of his teachers whom Rabbi Abadi refers to in his writings. In one of his responsa, he refers to Hacham Swed as “The teacher of my youth, my master, etc…” Such an approbation indicates that Rabbi Swed was probably one of his main teachers, if not his primary one.
From Aleppo to Turkey… and Back Again
Although Aleppo was the home of his youth, Hacham Mordechai later moved to Kilis, Turkey, in his middle years to serve as the rabbi of the community. He would later return to Syria.
The exact dates of his rabbinical tenure in Turkey are unknown; and while it is commonly accepted that he remained in Kilis until his death, Rabbi Abadi’s own writings disprove this. (1)
The Abadi Family
Rabbi Abadi had three sons, Shaul, Yaakob, and Abraham, and a daughter, Rivkah. His children faithfully followed in their father’s footsteps, and his grandchildren continued to bring honor to the Abadi name.
His son Abraham was the proud father of Hacham Matloub Abadi zt”l, who faithfully served the Syrian community of New York for close to fifty years, and wrote the scholarly volume Magen Ba’adi.
One of their daughters, Farida, married Rabbi Raphael Marcus-Lala, an outstanding Talmudic scholar in Aleppo during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.
A Mentor of Gedolim
Aside from Rabbi Moshe Swed, we are not aware who else taught Rabbi Abadi, though it is for certain that many of Rabbi Abadi’s students became great scholars themselves. The impressive list of his students include: Rabbi Yaakob Haim Yisrael Raphael Alfieh, who authored Rei’ah LeYishack; Rabbi Yeshaya Dayan, who later served as Av Bet Din in Aleppo, and authored Zeh Ketab Yadi and several other important volumes; Rabbi Haim Shaul Dweck, who became a world-renowned Kabbalistic scholar and authored Eifah Shelomo, Pe’at HaSadeh and other significant works of Kabbalah; Rabbi Yaakob Shaul Dweck, who served as the rabbi of Kilis after Rabbi Abadi, and later became chief rabbi and ab bet din of Aleppo; Rabbi Eliyahu Hamway, who served as Rosh Bet Din in Aleppo; Rabbi Shaul Sutton-Dabah, who became chief rabbi of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and authored an important book of responsa entitled Diber Shaul; and Rabbi Yaakob Yosef Rofeh, who emigrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and authored Kol Mebaser. In fact, in that volume, Rabbi Rofeh writes that all the great scholars of his time were students of Rabbi Abadi!
Priceless Volumes
Two of Rabbi Abadi’s scholarly works begin with the word "מעין" – Ma’yan: Ma’yan Mayim, which is a commentary on the Humash, and Ma’yan Ganim. In the introduction to Ma’yan Mayim, Rabbi Abadi states that he purposely used the word Ma’yan as part of the title to serve as an acronym for his and his father’s names: The Letter "Mem" stands for Mordechai, the "Ayin" for Abadi, the "Yod" for Yaakob, and the "Nun Sofit" for Ben, or Son - Mordechai Abadi, the son of Yaakob.
Rabbi Abadi’s most renowned work, Ma’yan Ganim, is composed of rich, lengthy responsa that reveal his deep and penetrating analysis of the material and his vast breadth of knowledge of Rabbinic Literature. Rabbi Abadi was such a great scholar that Hacham Ezra Attieh, the Rosh Yeshivah of Porat Yosef, was effusive in his praise of him. In one of his letters, Rabbi Attieh’s admiration for Rabbi Abadi shines through his words: “Our master and teacher; the great and mighty gaon - the overflowing wellspring; there are non who can fathom the depths of his understanding and penetrating analysis; our master and the crown of our head, Rabbi Mordechai Abadi, whose name extends from one end of the world to the other!”
Interestingly, in this particular volume, which the museum is printing for the first time, Rabbi Abadi often mentions novella that he composed for his scholarly work, Divre Ha’am. Upon closer examination of Mayan Ganim, the museum staff discovered that the particular novellae that Rabbi Abadi mentions as being written in Divre Ha’am are recorded in Mayan Ganim. Hence, it appears that Divre Ha’am was renamed Mayan Ganim.
Plumbing the Depths of Kabbalah
In addition to Rabbi Abadi’s prowess as a Talmudic scholar, he was also an authority on the mystical spheres of Kabbalah. Rabbi Abadi would lead the prayers daily in accordance with Kabbalah. The Shaharit prayers would take a full two and a quarter hours each morning.
One of the scholars of Aleppo, Hacham Eliyahu Tawil, spent much of his time studying the Zohar. Once, no matter how much he tried, he simply could not grasp the depths of a particular passage of this holy Book. In his great desire to uncover the meaning of the Zohar’s words, he fasted and wrote a note containing the question. He then placed the note beneath his pillow, requesting that he be answered in a dream that night.
His request was answered. After falling asleep that night, Hacham Eliyahu began to dream. In his dream he was told to seek out Rabbah bar Nahmani, who would answer his question. Considering that Rabbah bar Nahmani was the name of one of the Sages of the Talmud who had passed away more than a thousand years previously and was not a name in use at the time, he asked how he could possibly seek him out.
A Heavenly spirit replied that he should go to the Bet Nassi Synagogue, where he would find the deceased Sage. Hacham Eliyahu awoke from his dream and headed for Bet Nassi. As he ascended the stairs of the synagogue, Rabbi Abadi came out to greet him and said, “Never repeat the contents of your dream to any person.”
Hacham Eliyahu was stunned with this revelation that Rabbi Abadi knew the contents of his dream.
Showing no sign of having noticed the astonishment that Hacham Eliyahu was feeling, Rabbi Abadi simply said, “After you break your fast, I will explain the words of the Zohar to you.”
Needless to say, Hacham Eliyahu broke his fast and Rabbi Abadi proceeded to explain the difficult passage of Zohar to him. From these events, Hacham Eliyahu understood that Rabbi Abadi had Divine inspiration and that his soul contained a spark from the soul of Rabbah bar Nahmani.
In accordance with Rabbi Abadi’s wishes, Hacham Eliyahu did not relate these events during Rabbi Abadi’s lifetime. After Rabbi Abadi’s death, however, Hacham Eliyahu publicly shared this story.
The Passing of a Hacham Mordechai
Rabbi Abadi passed away in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1883, and was buried there. Rabbi Yosef Shayo wrote that Rabbi Abadi was in Beirut on the way to Jerusalem when he died. A number of sources state that Rabbi Abadi left this world on the third of the Hebrew month of Sivan. However, Rabbi Shayo disagreed, writing that his death was on the third day of the week, not the third day of the month. According to Rabbi Shayo, Rabbi Abadi passed away on the twenty-seventh of Sivan.
Rabbi Mordechai Abadi was only fifty-seven years old at the time of his death, but he accomplished much and left a rich legacy behind. Syrian Jews continued to honor and revere his name and memory. The very mention of his name was a great source of pride for Syrian Jewry, and outstanding scholars like Rabbi Ezra Attieh and Rabbi Abraham Harari-Raful would relate many stories of his greatness. Rabbi Abadi’s name would be mentioned on the night of Yom Kippur as part of a hashkavah, memorial prayer, that was recited for hachamim and leaders of the Aleppan Community, until the last Jews left Aleppo in 1992. Similarly, in the Ohel Yaakob synagogue in Aley, Lebanon, congregants would also mention his name on the night of Yom Kippur as part of a hashkavah. This custom is still practiced by Syrian congregations until this day.
After Hacham Yitzhak Chehebar and his family left Aleppo for Beirut in 1952, the Syrian government sought his arrest and extradition from Lebanon. In response to his fears, Hacham Yitzhak frequented Rabbi Mordechai Abadi’s grave, where he would tearfully pour out his heart in prayer to Gd, beseeching Him to save him and his family from this evil decree. Thank Gd, his prayers were answered and no harm befell them.
(1) See Preface to Ashrei Ha’am
