List of Jewish leaders in the Land of Israel
The following is a list of Jewish leaders since the time of Abraham.
For thousands of years, Jews have lived in their homeland, sometimes as an independent polity, sometimes not.
The Patriarchs
Sojourn in Egypt
According to the last chapter of Genesis, Jacob moved, with his family, to Egypt, and toward the end of his life, gave the dominant blessing to Joseph's younger son, Ephraim, as opposed to the oldest son Manasseh as was custom. Therefore, it is assumed Ephraim and his descendants (which are mentioned in I Chronicles 7:20-21) held the leadership of the Israelites during the slavery period in Egypt, until the time of Moses, although the Bible never mentions this specifically.
Sinai Period
The Judges
House of Saul
House of David
After Rehoboam
After Rehoboam reigned three years (1 Chronicles 11:17), the kingdom was divided in two - the northern kingdom of Israel with its capital, first in Shechem (Nablus), then Tirzah, and finally Samaria, and ruled by a series of dynasties beginning with Jeroboam; and the southern kingdom of Judah with its capital still at Jerusalem and still ruled by the House of David. The following list contains the kings of Judah with the kings of Israel in the summaries:
- Abijah
- Asa - under whose reign, the following were kings in Israel: *Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, and Ahab.
- Jehoshaphat - under whose reign, Ahaziah and Yehoram reigned in Israel.
- Yehoram ben Yehoshaphat
- Ahaziah ben Yehoram - under whose reign, Jehu ruled in Israel.
- Athaliah
- Yehoash - under whose reign, Yehoahaz and another Yehoash ruled in Israel.
- Amaziah - under whose reign, Jeroboam II ruled in Israel.
- Uzziah - under whose reign, the following ruled over Israel: Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, and Pekah.
- Yotam
- Ahaz - under whose reign, Hoshea ruled over Israel.
- Hezekiah - under his reign, the Assyrian Empire conquered and destroyed the northern kingdom 722BC leaving only the southern kingdom of Judah.
- Manasseh
- Amon
- Josiah
- Yehoahaz
- Yakim
- Yachin
- Zedekiah - last king to rule over, and in, Judah. Overthrown by Babylonia (which succeeded Assyria) and exiled, along with most of the rest of the population, to that kingdom, where he was executed. Yachin resumed the throne as king-in-exile (II Kings 25:27-30) and Gedaliah became governor over the remnant of Judah in their homeland. He was assassinated the next year.
Babylonian Captivity
Return to Judea Under the House of David
Persia succeeded Babylonia 538BC and King Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland.
The High Priesthood
Beginning c.late 5th century BC, while Judea was under Persian, and then Greek governors, the Jews maintained their autonomy through their High Priests who were the descendants of Aaron, brother of Moses and the first High Priest.
- Yehozadak - during the exile
- Yeshua - during the return
- Yakim
- Eliashiv
- Yehoiada
- Yohanan
- Yaddua - it was possibly during his reign (332BC) that Alexander the Great conquered Judea and brought it under the rule of the Hellenistic Empire.
- Onias I - Egypt conquers Judea (301BC).
- Shimon haTzedek
- Eleazar
- Manasseh
- Onias II - during his time, Judea passed to the overlordship of the Syrian Greeks (219BC) which lasted 2 years and under:
- Shimon II - Judea passed to Egypt.
- Onias III - Judea conquered by Syrian Greeks (198BC).
- Jason
- Meneleus
House of Hasmon (The Maccabees) 168BC-37BC
- Mattityahu - who began a war for independence.
- Judah - during whose reign, Alcimus succeeded Menelaeus as high priest.
- Jonathan - assumed the high priesthood.
- Simon - succeeded his brother Jonathan as high priest and was also installed as ethnarch and commander-in-chief. Under his reign, Judea gained its independence.
- John Hyrcanus I - also succeeded as high priest.
- Aristobulus - also high priest.
- Alexander Jannaeus - high priest and king.
- Salome Alexandra
- Hyrcanus II - succeeded Alexander as high priest beginning with the rule of Salome.
- Aristobulus II - succeeded as high priest. During his reign, Judea lost its independence and passed under the rule of Rome (63BC) who overthrew him and reinstalled:
Hyrcanus II as high priest
House of Herod 37BC-70AD
After Archelaeus
After Archelaeus, there ruled a series of Roman governors over Judea, however, the Jews kept their autonomy. They continued to be ruled in their religious life by the high priests, appointed by the Roman governors, and in their civil life by the Sanhedrin under the Nasi. The Sanhedrin was believed to have begun with Ezra, and continued under the line of the House of David. The following list is that of the Nesiim. The corresponding High Priests are mentioned in the summaries:
- Hillel 20BC-16AD - under whose rule, the following were High Priests: Matityahu ben Theophilus 20BC?-4AD, Yoazar, Eleazar ben Boethus, Joshua, Anan ben Seth, and Ishmael.
- Shimon haNasi - under whose rule, the following were High Priests: Eleazar ben Anan, Shimon ben Camithus, and Joseph Caiaphas.
- Gamliel I d. 50 - under whose rule, the following were High Priests: Jonathan ben Anan & Theophilus ben Anan. During the rule of Gamliel, the House of Herod was restored and:
- Agrippa I 41-44 - assumed the throne of Judea. He appointed as High Priest: Shimon Cantheras, Matityahu ben Anan, Aljoneus, and Jonathan ben Anan.
- Herod II 44-48 - successor to Agrippa I, appointed as High Priests: Josephus ben Camydus, Anan ben Nebedeus, and Jonathan.
- Agrippa II 48-73 - appointed as High Priests: Ishmael ben Fabus, Joseph Cabi, Ananus ben Artanus, Joshua ben Damneus, Joshua ben Gamliel, Matityahu ben Theophilus, and Pinhas ben Shmuel. In 66AD, the great revolt began against Rome, resulting in the Zealot Temple Siege and culminating in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD, the abolition of the High Priesthood, and the final defeat at Massada in 73. Agrippa II was exiled to Rome during the revolt where he died.
The Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin continued to be ruled by the House of David. The majority, but not all Jews were exiled from Judea after the revolt but until the 4th century, the Jews still maintained a majority in the homeland. Afterwards, they became a minority and in that capacity they remained, until the birth of the modern State of Israel in 1948.
- Interregnum (Bar Kokhba revolt) 132-135
Post-Patriarchate
In 425 CE, the office of the Patriarchate was abolished by the Byzantine authorities, but it continued to function secretly. The following leaders are to be found in The Jews of Egypt and Palestine under the Fatimid Caliphs :[1]
- Gurya
- Mar Zutra II c. 520
- Jacob
- Shemaiah
- Haninah (same as Benjamin of Tiberias?) - possibly under his rule, Persia briefly conquered Palestine from the Byzantines 614-628, and installed a Persian Jew, Nehemiah ben Hushiel, as governor of Jerusalem until they overthrew him 617.[2] The Byzantines reconquered Palestine in 628.
- Megas - possibly under his rule, the Arabs conquered Palestine from the Byzantines, 636, and allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem.
- Misa
- Nehemiah
- Abdimi – beginning c. 767…
- Anan ben David, the founder of the Karaite movement within Judaism, emigrated from Babylonia and settled in Jerusalem where he, and his descendants styled themselves “Patriarchs” of Israel,[3] effectively making Jerusalem, the renewed seat of Jewish leadership. They were in constant conflict with the rabbis in Tiberias who had always sought to undermine Karaite authority. But Karaite authority in Palestine continued to hold out, possibly for another 5 generations. The Karaite Synagogue in Jerusalem which was built by Anan, legend says, is still in existence. In 800, Anan was succeeded by his son
- Saul while Pinhas and Chatzuv ruled in Tiberias
- Josiah son of Saul.[4]
- Moses son of Josiah?, possibly during his reign, Yehudah ben Alan became the rabbinical authority in Tiberias
- Meir son of Moses?, possibly at the end of his reign, Musa became the rabbinical authority in Tiberias
- Zemah 884-915 son of Meir?, he and Karaite rule were finally overthrown by the rabbis of Tiberias under
For around 200 years, from about 550 CE (the traditional date given for the codification of the "Babylonian" Talmud) until about 750 CE, little is known of Jewish life in Palestine.[5] The following list of Palestinian geonim, starting with Aaron ben Meïr - gaon during the first half of the tenth century, appears in Encyclopedia Judaica:[6]
- Aaron ben Meïr c. 915 CE
- Yitzhak ben Aharon 932-934, son of Aaron
- ? Ben Meir 934-948, brother of Aharon
- Avraham ben Aharon 948-955, son of Aharon
- Aharon ben Avraham 955, son of Avraham
- Yosef ben Ezron 956-958
- ? 958-988 ruled for 30 years during which time, the Fatimids of Egypt conquered Palestine 969, and established their own empire
- Shmuel ben Yosef 988-? son of Yosef ben Ezron
- Yosi ben Shmuel his son
- Shemaiah ben Yosi his son
- Josiah ben Aharon 1015-1020 son of Aharon ben Avraham?, ruled from Ramle
- Shlomo ben Yosef 1020-1025 son of Yosef ben Ezron
- Shlomo ben Yehudah 1025-1051 (b. Morocco) son-in-law of Shlomo ben Yosef, was briefly exiled to Ramle by an alliance of the Karaites and his political enemies
- Daniel ben Azariah 1051-1062 (b. Babylonia) member of the ruling family of Babylonian Exilarchs, usurped the geonate in Jerusalem, styled himself Nasi and Gaon
Geonim in exile
- Elijah ben Solomon ha-Cohen 1062-1083 son of Shlomo ben Yosef. The occupation of Jerusalem by the Seljuks in 1071 completely destroyed the city's Jewish community. Therefore, Eliahu moved the academy to Tyre, which was subject to Fatimid rule and Shlomo Hanasi was appointed to take over leadership in Jerusalem,[7] although he and the remaining assembly continued to be under the authority of Eliahu and his son and successor
- Abiathar ben Elijah ha-Cohen 1083-1109. His other son Shlomo, who served as Av Bet Din under Abiathar, fled in 1093 to Hadrak (near Damascus) because of the decrees of David ben Daniel, head of Egyptian Jewry and son of Daniel ben Azariah, who wished to exert his authority over all Fatimid lands. In Hadrak, Shlomo organized a second Eretz Israel Academy. Abiathar headed the Tyre academy until the conquest of the city by the crusaders. Afterward he moved to Tripoli where he died before 1130.[8] After Solomon’s reign in Hadrak, his position was given to his son
- Maẓli'aḥ, who went to Egypt in 1127 where he received the title of gaon. After his death in 1138, his position was apparently given to
- Moshe Halevy ben Netanel; however, it is possible that
- Shmuel ben Hananiah, who met Judah Halevi (1142) when he traveled from Egypt to Ereẓ Israel, was given the position. During his reign, a certain Petrus Judeaus swore allegiance to Crusader King Baldwin III in Jerusalem 1156.[9]After Moshe Halevy, his son
- Netanel was gaon (1160–70). Meanwhile, the Hadrak Academy moved to Damascus and still existed during the 12th century when Benjamin of Tudela reported that it was subject to the rule of the Babylonian gaonate in Baghdad. The names of two geonim who were descendants of the Abiathar family, Avraham ben Matzhir and his son Ezra ben Avraham 1164?-?, are known. The latter was ordained by Shmuel ben Ali of Baghdad. After the death of Netanel, his brother
- Sar Shalom was appointed gaon at Fostat. Sar Shalom, who was perhaps of Palestinian geonic descent, sometimes called himself rosh yeshivat Ereẓ ha-Ẓevi, as if his activities were a continuation of the academies of Ereẓ Israel not only in Damascus but also in Fostat. In his time, at the end of the reign of Ezra ben Avraham in Damascus or shortly afterward the continuity of the geonim of Ereẓ Israel in Damascus was broken. It is possible that Ezra was followed by Zadok (c. 1170s) , who was dismissed from his position.[10] Later, with the death of Sar Shalom, the gaonate in Egypt, as well, ceased to exist.
The Chief Rabbinate subordinate to the Nagid of Egypt
Since that time, the Nagid, a title going back to the 11th century, now ruled all Jewry in Egypt, and by extension, Palestine as well.[11]
- Maimonides 1171-1204 - who came from Spain via Morocco and Israel, succeeded as Nagid in Egypt. During his reign, there were repeated attempts to revive the Jewish community in Jerusalem. Two of the most prominent rabbis there during this time were Hananiah ben Yehudah, and Yehiel ben Yitzhak who inquired of Maimonides how to dispose of a certain amount of money.[12] In 1187, Saladin conquered Palestine from the Crusaders resulting in increased tension and violence between Christians and Muslims in Israel. Soon after Saladin's conquest, Jews were invited to return to Jerusalem and it was decided by the rabbis in Egypt that a "vice-Nagid" would be appointed to oversee internal Palestinian affairs. The first two who held this title was Hillel ben Moshe and Ovadiah ben Ulah.[13]
- Avraham ben Moshe 1204-1237 under whose rule, Jerusalem, by treaty, passed to the Christians under Frederick II 1228.
- David ben Avraham – 1237-1300 under his rule, Jerusalem passed briefly under the Muslims, but then passed under Christian rule 1243, invaded by the Khwarizian Turks 1244, and tenuously held by the Mameluke Egyptians 1250. Yehiel ben Yoseph, who came from Paris in 1257, led the Jews in Palestine from his Midrash haGadol d'Parisi in Acre during which time, the Mongol Hordes invaded Jerusalem 1260. He was succeeded by Moshe ben Nahman (b. Spain) who revived Jerusalem 1267 and built a synagogue which became known as the Ramban Synagogue, where the chief rabbinate would preside until the 16th century.[14] In 1270, he was succeeded by Solomon Petit who came from France.[15] In 1291, the Mameluke Egyptians brought Palestine under their full control and David ben Avraham's son:
- Avraham ben David co-ruled with his father in Egypt from 1291 until 1300 after which, he co-ruled with his son
- Moshe ben Avraham until 1305, and then, by his other son
- Yehoshua until his death in 1313, after which, Yehoshua ruled alone. During this time, the noted geographer Ashturi Farhi came from France in c.1306 and went to Jerusalem where he studied with Baruch Ashkenazi who probably led the Jews of Palestine.[16] If this assumption is true, then he was succeeded by Isaac Hatikvah (b. Spain).[17] Yehoshua ruled until his death in 1355
- David ben Yehoshua 1355-1374, son of Yehoshua.
- Amram – 1374-1384 mentions in a letter c.1380 a certain rabbi Yoseph ben Eliezer Tov Elem who lived in Jerusalem.[18]
- Shimon 1384-1422
- Yosef ben Ovadiah – 1422-1430
- Abd al Latif – 1430-1442 during whose reign, Elijah of Ferrara was chief rabbi of Palestine c.1435.[17]
- Yosef ben Khalifah 1442-1465, during whose reign, Abraham Halevy was chief rabbi of Palestine.[19]
- Shlomo ben Yosef – 1465-1482 during whose reign, Shalom Ashkenazi was chief rabbi of Palestine.[20]
- Natan Sholal – 1482-1504 during whose reign, Obadiah ben Abraham di Bertinoro was chief rabbi of Palestine 1488.[21] For a brief period, he was chief rabbi in Hebron 1490-1495 and Isaac ibn Haim ruled in Jerusalem in his place [22] until his return to Jerusalem. Beginning in the last years of Natan's reign, he co-ruled with his nephew
- Isaac Sholal 1502-1517 and at the same time, Jacob of Trijal succeeded as chief rabbi of Palestine. He was followed by Judah Albotini (b. Turkey) who ruled Palestine until the conquest by the Ottoman Turks 1516 when the office of Nagid of Egypt was abolished. Isaac, therefore, sought to make the Palestinian rabbinate independent of the Egyptian rabbinate. Shortly after the Ottoman conquest, he settled in Jerusalem and became successor to Albotini. He ruled in Jerusalem until 1525. [23]
The Chief Rabbinate - The Sheikh al Yahud
- Levi ibn Habib (b. Spain) - ruled from Jerusalem 1525-1553 but in 1538, Rabbi Jacob Berab who came from Spain via Egypt, sought to revive the Sanhedrin, in Safed, thus making that city, the competing capital of Israel. He was opposed and exiled by ibn Habib and the rabbis of Jerusalem but Safed remained the competing capital for a number of years thereafter. Berab was succeeded in Safed by Joseph Caro (b. Spain) (1540-1575) who was ordained by him.
- David ibn Abi Zimra of the Egyptian rabbinate - ruled simultaneously in Jerusalem (1553-1567) succeeding ibn Habib.
After the death of Joseph Caro (1575), the following rabbis ruled alternately from Safed and Jerusalem:
- Moshe Galante I (b. Rome) 1575-1580 - ruled from Jerusalem
- Moshe Trani (b. Greece) succeeded Caro in Safed.
- Haim Vital - succeeded Trani in Safed but moved his rabbinate to Jerusalem which, once again, became the sole capital of Israel. In 1586, the Ramban Synagogue was confiscated by the Arabs and the ben Zakkai Synagogue was built in its stead.
- Bezalel Ashkenazi 1586?-1592 - first chief rabbi to preside in the ben Zakkai Synagogue.[24]
- Gedaliah Cordovero 1592-1627 [25]
- Isaac Gaon?
- Israel Benjamin [26]
- Jacob Zemah (b. Portugal) 1645-1663 [27]
- Samuel Garmison (b. Greece) 1663-1665 [28]
Rishon le-Zion 1665 — 1842
This list is taken from the Jewish Encyclopedia:[29]
- Moses Galante 1665-1689
- Moses ibn Habib 1689-1695
- Moses Hayun 1695-1715
- Avraham ben David Yitzchaki 1715-1728
- Benjamin Hacohen Ma'ali 1728-1730
- Eliezer ben Jacob Nachum 1730-1745
- Nissim Chaim Moses Mizrachi 1745-1754
- Isaac Rapaport 1754-1755
- Israel Jacob Algazi 1755-1756
- Raphael Samuel Meyuchas 1756-1771
- Chaim Raphael Abraham Ben Asher 1771-1772
- Yom Tov Algazi 1772-1802
- Moses Joseph Mordechai Meyuchas 1802-1806
- Jacob Moses Ayash al-Maghrebi 1806-1807
- Jacob Koral 1807-1813
- Raphael Joseph Hazan 1813-1822
- Yom Tov Danon 1822-1824
- Solomon Moses Suzin 1824-1836
- Jonah Moses Navon 1836-1841
- Judah Raphael Navon 1841-1842
Hacham Bashi 1842-1918
[30]
- Avraham Haim Gaggin (b. Turkey) 1842-1848
- Isaac Kovo 1848-1854
- Haim Abulafia 1854-1860
- Haim Hazzan (b. Turkey) 1860-1869
- Avraham Ashkenazi (b. Greece) 1869-1880
- Raphael Meir Panigel (b. Bulgaria) 1880-1893
- Jacob Saul Elyashar 1893-1906
- Jacob Meir 1906-1907
- Elijah Moses Panigel 1907-1908
- Nahman Batito 1908-1915
- Nissim Danon 1915-1918 - In 1917, Palestine was conquered by the British. Danon was succeeded as chief rabbi after WWI by Haim Moshe Eliashar who assumed the title of Acting Chief Rabbi 1918-1921. They controlled religious affairs while:
The Va'Ad Le'Umi 1918-1948
The Vaad Leumi, conjointly with the Jewish Agency, controlled civil affairs, as defined by a British Mandatory Ordinance. The office of chief rabbi continues to this day, but the following list only contains the elected chairmen of the Va'ad Le'umi.[31]
- Yaacov Thon (b. Ukraine) 1917-1920 - head of a provisional council which preceded the actual formation of the Vaad Leumi in 1920.
- David Yellin 1920-1929
- Pinhas Rutenberg (b. Ukraine) 1929-1931
- Yitzhak Ben Zvi (b. Ukraine) - elected as chairman in the 1931 elections, held the office until independence in 1948. In 1939, Pinhas Rutenberg was, once again, appointed chairman of the Va'ad while Ben Zvi became President. He held that position until his death in 1942. In the 1944 elections, *David Remez (b. Ukraine), was elected as chairman while ben Zvi continued with the title of President.
The Prime Minister 1948-
References
- ^ The Jews of Egypt and Palestine under the Fatimid Caliphs by Prof. Gerson D. Cohen - "From the Conquest of Egypt by Jauhar to the End of al-Hakim's Reign." pp. 58-9
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica ed. by Cecil Roth - vol. 9 - "Israel - History - The Persian Invasion" - cols. 258-9
- ^ The Indestructible Jews by Max I. Dimont - p. 201
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - vol. 10 col. 295 & vol. 14 col. 918
- ^ Lawrence A. Hoffman (1997). My People's Prayer Book: Kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming Shabbat in the synagogue). Jewish Lights Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 9781580231213. http://books.google.com/books?id=WoYoPATWszAC&pg=PA11. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - vol. 7 - "Gaon" - cols. 321-4
- ^ Egypt and Palestine - "Conditions in Palestine and in Syria - Nesiim and Geonim" - p. 199
- ^ According to the entry in the Encyclopedia Judaica under “Gaon”, it reads, twice, the year of his death as “before 1110”. However, that could not have been possible since the Crusaders didn’t conquer Tyre until 1124. Therefore, this is probably a typographical error and should read “before 1130
- ^ www.jewishencyclopedia.com "Jerusalem - During the Crusades"
- ^ Taḥkemoni, ed. by A. Kaminka (1899), 354
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - vol.2 col. 151; vol.12 col. 759
- ^ Egypt and Palestine - "Egyptian Affairs from about 1050CE to the Period of Maimonides (d. 1204CE)" - pp. 240-1 n. 353
- ^ ibid. - "The Communal Organization" - p. 257
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - "Nahmanides" - v.12 col. 776
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - vol. 5 col. 1348, vol. 10 col. 6
- ^ ibid. - vol. 6, col. 918
- ^ a b www.jewishencyclopedia.com "Jerusalem - Ashkenazim and Sephardim"
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - "Amram" - vol. 2 col. 890
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - "Abraham Ha-Levi" - vol. 2 col. 158
- ^ www.jewishencyclopedia.com "Jerusalem - Meshullam of Volterra"
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - "Bertinoro, Obadiah" - vol. 4 cols. 698-9
- ^ The Jews in Their Land by David ben Gurion
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - "Albotini" - vol. 2 cols. 537-8; "Sholal, Isaac" - vol. 14 col. 1453
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - "Levi ben Habib" - vol. 11 col. 99; "Berab, Jacob" - vol. 4 cols. 582-4; "Caro, Joseph" - vol. 5 col. 194; "Galante, Moses (I)" - vol. 7 col. 260; "Ashkenazi, Bezalel" - vol. 3 col. 723; www.jewishencyclopedia.com "Jerusalem - Jacob Berab and ibn Habib"
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - "Cordovero, Gedaliah" - vol. 5 col. 967
- ^ ibid. - "Benjamin, Baruch" - vol. 4 col. 527; "Benjamin, Israel" - vol. 4 col. 528
- ^ www.jewishencyclopedia.com "Jerusalem - Solomon al-Gazi's Description"
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - "Garmison, Samuel" - vol. 7 col. 329
- ^ ibid. - "Rishon Le-Zion" vol. 14 col. 193; www.jewishencyclopedia.com - "Jerusalem - In the Eighteenth Century" "In the Nineteenth Century" "Albert Cohn and Ludwig Frankl"
- ^ ibid. "Jews of Jerusalem" "Institutions"; Encyclopedia Judaica - "Israel, State of" - Religious Life and Communities - vol. 9 cols. 889-90
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica - "Israel, State of" - Governance - Jewish Communal Organization - The Asefat ha-Nivharim and the Va'ad Le'ummi - vol. 9 cols. 608-9