For a myriad of reasons, Jewish historians tend to gravitate to certain eras and communities, leaving much to be uncovered in other communities, and much else to be lost to time. One such community that has yet to achieve the attention it deserves is the ancient Jewish community of Izmir, today in Turkey, along the Aegean Sea, in Western Turkey. Jews have lived in Izmir since at least the 2nd and 3rd century, when the Greeks called it Smyrna. In 1424, the Ottomans captured Izmir, and Jews found refuge in the town from Christian Europe and its mandatory persecutions. By the time of the Spanish Expulsion, Izmir was well established as a Jewish community, and in the coming centuries many Spanish Jewish exiles arrived to Izmir and a thriving community developed. In 1626, Izmir’s most famous native was born, the famed false messiah Shabbetai Zevi.
A letter I sold this week tells us much about the state of the community in the 19th century. It is dated 1866, and written by the famed Rabbi Haim Palachi (1787-1868), the rabbi of Izmir, and author of over 80 published works and many others lost to the infamous recurring fires in Izmir. The background to the letter was an intense internal dispute that occurred between the wealthy class of Izmir on one end and Rabbi Haim Palachi and the masses of the community on the other.
Historian D. Gershon Lewental describes the conflict as follows. In November 1865, an administrative committee forced R. Palachi to accept its oversight, after which a group of lay leaders purchased at reduced cost the concession for the gabelle tax on kosher food and alcohol. The concessionaires refused audit; R. Palachi repealed the tax completely. The concessionaires went over R. Palachi as Izmir’s hakham bashi to the regional head (hakham bashi kayakami), whose representative conducted an investigation that recommended R. Palachi’s removal in favor of himself (the representative). The Ottoman government accepted the recommendation. Widespread opposition to the Ottoman decision led to delay, repeal, and finally reinstitution of R. Palachi by October 1867. Rabbi Palachi agreed to some reforms but died before they took effect.
Historian Stanford J. Shaw recounts that the dispute started in November 1865, when other members of the Jewish religious council speculated on the gabelle on wine, alcohol, and salt; Palachi annulled the tax. In December 1866, Yakir Geron, grand rabbi of Adrianople, intervened by sending an emissary, Rabbi Samuel Danon, to resolve the matter; he recommended that Geron dismiss Palachi (and appoint himself, Danon, instead). Jewish members of the Izmir community asked their vali (governor) to hold off, while they sent a mission to Istanbul. The decision that came back was to appoint Palachi as chief rabbi for life.
In this letter, Rabbi Haim Palachi writes to an Abraham (possibly Cohen?) for assistance, described the background of the affair and the state of the community, stating that 4500 families supported him and his position, while four influential wealthy rabble-rousers were against him. He suggests that Abraham write to Moses Montefiore and Rothschild for support, two figures who had helped the Jews of Izmir in the past. Rabbi Haim Palachi pleads for assistance in removing R. Samuel Danon from his position and reinstating his position. R. Palachi writes that if he succeeds in his mission, it will be his merit of saving an entire Jewish community and heaps upon him a strong of blessings. The letter is signed by R. Palachi and followed by his seal, with his titles and names in both Hebrew and Turkish.
Eventually, R. Palachi was reinstated, though the matter did not die down. He ended up writing several books relating to taxes within Jewish communities. R. Palachi held his position until his passing in 1868.
