AL-GHARlD AL-YAHUDl To ALIYAH (Jews and Judaism)

AL-GHARlD AL-YAHUDl

(early seventh century), poet, singer, and composer from *Medina in Arabia. Al-Gharid al-Yahudi is not to be confused with al-Gharid (nickname meaning the fresh voice), one of the four great singers in the early Islamic era (d. 716). The biographical account of al-Gharid the Jew is reported by the 10th-century author al-Mahani in his monumental Kitab al-Aghant ("Book of Songs"), which contains a collection of poems from the pre-Islamic period to the ninth century, all of which had been set to music. Al-Gharid the Jew is described in this topic as a Kohen descended from Aaron ben Amram and a member of the Jewish group living in Yathrib (i.e., Medina, the city of the Prophet *Muhammad). Al-Isfahani mentions in the same context other Jewish poets belonging to the same group, but the very fact that he dedicated a special entry to al-Gharid points to his artistic ability and reputation. Al-Isfahani even reports that Muhammad was pleased with one of al-Gharid’s songs.

ALGHERO

Sardinian port. The Jewish community developed there in the second half of the 14th century after Sardinia was acquired by the crown of Aragon. In 1354 Jews supplied the conquering army of Peter iv of Aragon and took part in the siege of Alghero. Among them were Jews from Castile, Sicily, Catalonia, and Majorca. Several are listed as soldiers. Following the conquest, many remained in Alghero. The first group of immigrants was joined in 1370 by families coming from Catalonia and southern France. Around 1400, new waves of immigrants came to Alghero, mainly from Provence. In 1360 King Peter iv conceded the Jews of Cagliari the privilege of erecting a tower in Alghero and permitted them to affix a commemorative stone to the wall to mark its foundation. The synagogue, built in 1381, was enlarged in 1438. The cemetery was established in 1383 and extended in 1435. As long as the attitude of the Aragonese authorities toward the Jews remained favorable, they were prominent in Alghero’s economic life. A Jew, Vidal de Santa Pau, advanced money to the authorities for restoring the city walls in 1423. In 1454 Samuel de Carcas-sona and Jacob Cohen, secretaries of the Jewish community of Alghero, obtained the right to emblazon the royal coat of arms on the wall of the synagogue. The wealthy Carcassona family loaned money to the Aragonese kings throughout the 15th century. In 1481 the brothers Samuel and Nino Carcas-sona were victualers for the royal galleys and military paymasters. Maimon Carcassona gave hospitality to the viceroy on his visits to Alghero. Moses, the richest property owner in the Jewish quarter, was the official collector of taxes and duties. Several celebrated physicians, including Bonjudes *Bon-davin of Marseille, lived in Alghero. The friendly attitude of the Aragonese authorities toward the Jews found expression in the regulations of 1451 exempting them from wearing the Jewish *badge and from having to listen to missionary sermons. They were also granted judicial autonomy and exemption from taxation. Conditions for Alghero Jewry began to deteriorate in 1481 when they shared the treatment meted out to the Jews of Spain. They were expelled in 1492 after the general edict of expulsion from the Spanish dominions. The Carcassona family, who became Christians, remained. Antonio Angelo Carcas-sona (born in 1515) studied law at the universities of Bologna and Rome, graduating as a doctor of both civil and canon law. In 1533 and in 1586 members of the Carcassona family were tried by the Spanish Inquisition for inviting foreign Jews as guests in their house in Alghero.

ALGIERS

(Al-Jazair), capital of *Algeria. The small Jewish community in the late Middle Ages was enlarged after 1248 by Jews from the Languedoc and about 1287 by Jews from Majorca. The population of Majorcan Jews increased between 1296 and 1313, when the town enjoyed a short-lived independence. The Majorcan Jews were arms suppliers. Before 1325 the port was visited regularly by Catalans and Genoese, as well as by Jewish shipowners and merchants.

The first Jewish refugees from Spain were warmly welcomed in 1391, but their increasing numbers caused anxiety among the Muslims and the native Jews, who feared their competition. One individual (whose identity cannot be ascertained), himself an immigrant, used his influence to prevent the landing of 45 newcomers and advised that all the fugitives be sent back, as they were accused of being Marranos. The qadi (Muslim religious judge) intervened in their favor.

The Spanish Jews prospered greatly and finally became the majority; they separated themselves from the native Jewish community by acquiring a cemetery and synagogue of their own and moving into a separate quarter. The leader of these Jews at first was R. Saul Ha-Kohen *Astruc, a scholar and philanthropist, who served as judge for the whole community. His successors were the famous R. Isaac *Bonastruc, R. *Isaac b. Sheshet (Ribash), and R. Simeon b. Zemail *Duran; they instituted the so-called takkanot of Algiers which governed the religious life of Algerian and Tunisian Jews. Because of the school of Isaac b. Sheshet and the Durans, Algiers became a major religious and intellectual center in the 15th century. Many Marranos moved there in order to practice Judaism openly. The large-scale maritime trade of the Spanish Jews at the end of the 14th century gave economic impetus to the city and prepared it somewhat for its future role.

From early in the 16th century, the Turks ruled in Algiers. In order to develop trade, they encouraged the creation of a privileged class. They employed Jews as advisers and physicians; Jews were also responsible for the coining of money and the accounts of the treasury. The mass of the people, Moors and Jews, suffered periodically from the whims of the Janissaries and the cruelty of the militia. In 1706 an outbreak of the plague and a terrible famine reduced many Jewish families to indigence. Then, influenced by false accusations, the bey imposed an exorbitant fine on the community and ordered the destruction of the synagogues, which were saved only by the payment of a further sum. This ruined the majority of the Jews. They commemorated the failure of the Spanish who attacked Algiers in 1541 and 1775 by instituting two "Purims" of Algiers, which were celebrated every year by the whole community. From the 17th century onward, former Portuguese Marranos and many Dutch, Moroccan, and Leghorn Jewish families went to settle there. Proficient in business, many owning their own ships, they gained control of Algerian commerce and extended the system of letters of exchange, and that of concessions and agencies in Europe and the East. These new immigrants intermarried with the older families of the town and settled on the Street of the Livornese, completely separated from the Hara ("quarter"). These "Juifs Francs" ("Francos," i.e., free from the obligations of other Jews), or "Christian Jews" (because they wore European garments), were employed by all European countries to ransom Christian prisoners. Many were able diplomats who negotiated or signed various peace and trade treaties. Among these diplomats in the second half of the 17th century were Jacob de Paz, Isaac Sasportas, David Torres, Judah Cohen (d. early 18th century), and Soliman Ja-quete (d. 1724). Their families became the aristocracy of the community and were active in promoting its welfare.

Internal strife in the Jewish community appeared only when the kabbalists R. Joshua Sidun, R. Joseph Abulker, R. Aaron Moatti, and above all R. Abraham Tubiana (d. 1792) introduced new rituals in their synagogues in accordance with the theories of R. Isaac *Luria. Members of other synagogues considered this sacrilegious and accused the innovators of promoting a schism. Until the mid-20a century two different rituals were followed in the synagogues of Algiers, that of the mekubbalim, or kabbalists, and that of the pashtanim, or those who followed the original customs of the refugees from Barcelona and Majorca. The intense religious life of the community was stimulated later in the 16th century by eminent scholars such as R. Abraham Tawa, R. Moses Meshash, R. Abraham *Gavison, physician to the famous "beylerbey" (Ottoman governor) Euldj Ali (1568-87), R. Solomon Duran ii and his disciple R. Judah Khallas ii (d. 1620), R. Solomon Seror (d. 1664) and his grandson Raphael-Jedidiah Seror (d. 1737), the philosopher R. Mas’ud Guenoun (d. 1694), the poet R. Ne-horai Azubib (d. 1785), and R. Judah *Ayash, one of the most venerated rabbis of Algiers. Their works, however, were neglected by the new generations, which turned toward other forms of culture.

In the late 18th-early 19th centuries the wealth of certain families added to the enormous influence of Naphtali *Busn-ach; this aroused the jealousy of the Janissaries, who assassinated Busnach. The day after Busnach’s assassination (June 29, 1805), they sacked Algiers killing between 200 and 500 Jews. Despite this catastrophe, the great families would not forgo their internal disputes nor their fierce competition for power. David Bacri succeeded his partner and relative Naphtali Bus-nach as head of the community. He was beheaded in 1811 by the dey and replaced by David Duran who represented the opposing families. The latter was in his turn put to death by the dey during the same year, and Joseph Bacri assumed the title of *muqaddam (head of the community). Involved against his will in disputes between the Jewish families, the rabbi of Algiers, R. Isaac Abulker, was dragged to the stake with seven other notables of the town (1815). After the landing of the French in 1830, Jacob Bacri was named "Chef de la Nation Israelite"; he was replaced by Aaron Moatti whose appointment was terminated in 1834.

In 1870 Algerian Jews became French citizens; subsequently antisemitism spread throughout the country manifesting itself in serious pogroms, particularly in Algiers (1884-87, 1897-98). After World War I a Zionist conference, the first in Algeria, was organized at Algiers. Although the Jewish elite was always active in the defense of Judaism, they were loyal French citizens.

The Algiers community was deeply affected by the nationalist struggle for independence. Much of the communal structure ceased to exist. The Great Synagogue in the ancient quarter, ravaged in the Christmas Eve riots of 1960 was only temporarily restored. The Maimonides rabbinical college was closed. During the French army’s search of Bab-el-Oued in 1962, in reprisal for the machine-gunning of French soldiers by the local oas, the synagogue of that quarter was ravaged.

Population Statistics

During the last four centuries the Jewish population of Algiers declined and increased according to the economic and political situation of the capital. In the 16th century it declined from 2,000 to 750 persons, because of the Spanish assaults. In the 17th and 18th centuries the number of Jews rose to 15,000, but then decreased to 7,000 and later, to 5,000. About the same number was found there by the French in 1830. Eight years later there were over 6,000 Jews, but after the antise-mitic persecutions of the last decades of the 19th century only 5,000 remained. After 1900, with the defeat of the anti-Jewish party, the Jewish population increased continuously: 10,822 in 1901, 17,053 in 1921, 23,550 in 1931, and 25,591 in 1941. During World War ii Algiers received over 1,000 Jewish refugees from Europe; after the uprising against the French in 1954 a large number of Jews from the interior settled in Algiers. Over 95% of this population, numbering about 34,000, left the capital when the declaration of independence was proclaimed in 1962. The vast majority immigrated to France, some went to America, and others to Israel. By 1963 only 2,500 Jews remained in Algiers. In 1969 their number was reduced to a few hundred and at the turn of the century to a few dozen.

ALGUADES

(Alguadez), MEIR (d. 1410), personal physician to successive kings of Castile, chief rabbi, and chief justice of Castilian Jewry. After the massacres of 1391, Alguades devoted his energies to rehabilitating the stricken Spanish communities, despite his personal misfortunes (his son-in-law had accepted baptism during the persecutions). Alguades’ activities extended beyond the frontiers of Castile into Aragon and Navarre. He was a friend and patron of Solomon ha-Levi of Burgos (later *Pablo de Santa Maria), Benveniste de la *Cavalleria, and H asdai *Crescas, the learned apologist and satirist Profiat *Duran, and the poet Solomon da Piera, who composed an elegy on Alguades’ death. Alguades translated into Hebrew Aristotle’s Ethics (ed. by Satanow, Berlin, 1790) and in his foreword speaks of the obstacles which he encountered in his work, while leading the life of a courtier bound to accompany the monarch on his travels. A number of medical prescriptions written by Alguades in Spanish have been preserved in Hebrew translation. Beside his activities as court physician, Alguades was apparently a tax-farmer. The statutes of the Castilian communities issued at *Valladolid in 1432 confirm that Alguades’ widow and daughter were to be exempted from taxes because of the services rendered by him to the Jewish communities. The local legend associating Al-guades with the *host desecration charge which entailed disaster for the community of *Segovia in 1410 seems to have no basis other than the improbable account of *Alfonso de Espina in his Fortalitium Fidei.

ALGUM

A tree which cannot be definitely identified. Mentioned among the trees of Lebanon which Hiram, king of Tyre, sent to Solomon for the building of the Temple and the palace (11 Chron. 2:7), it is referred to elsewhere as having been imported from tropical Ophir (11 Chron. 9:10-11; 1 Kings 10:11, where it is called almog). The Septuagint identifies the tree brought from Lebanon as a species of pine and that from Ophir as apparently a species of Tuja, while the Jerusalem Talmud and the Midrash identify it with alvos, i.e., Aquilaria agallo-cha, which is a tropical tree of high quality used in the making of furniture. It has also been identified with the biblical aloe (Num. 24:6; Ps. 45:9; Prov. 7:17; Song 4:14) used in incense and for perfume. In modern Hebrew almog is used for coral, which is also the meaning given to it in the Talmud (rh 23a).

ALHADIB (al-Ah dab), ISAAC BEN SOLOMON BEN ZADDIK

(mid-14th century-after 1429), Hebrew poet and astronomer. Of Spanish origin (very likely from Castile), after the events of 1391, Alh adib went to Sicily in 1396. He lived first in Syracuse and then (1426) in Palermo. He applied his scientific interests to biblical interpretation, and also wrote secular and liturgical poetry. O. Ra’anan published in 1988 a critical edition of almost 90 of his poems, most of them secular, including monorhymed and strophic compositions and some rhymed prose. His poetry, with popular tendencies, is sometimes didactic, ethic, or sapiential, but sometimes also humorous or satiric, including some riddles, proverbs, and polemics, and introductions to prose works. Two interesting poems, alluding to the 13 principles of Maimonides, were written on the occasion of the wedding of his two sons. Like other late Hebrew poets, he wrote in a mannered style (for instance, a poem has one thousand words starting with the letter nun), imitating the octosyllabic structure of Romance poetry in many of his Hebrew verses. He wrote a hymn on Esther giving his name in acrostic, and an addition to the poem with which Moses Handali opened his commentary on the Hebrew translation of Al-Fergani’s astronomy.

Only one of his works in prose has been published in full, Leshon ha-Zahav, on weights and measures mentioned in the Bible (Venice, undated). His writings (in manuscript) include Orah Selulah, on calculations; Iggeret Kelei Hemdah, describing an astronomical apparatus wich he invented in Sicily; Keli ha-Memuza or Keli ha-Emza’i, also on astronomy; and Maamar be-Gidrei ha-Devarim, on theological terminology.

AL HA MISHMAR

(Heb.Hebrew daily news paper of the Israeli left-wing *Mapam Party, its affiliated Ha-Shomer ha-Z a’ir youth movement, and the Kibbutz Arzi network of agricultural settlements. Established in Tel Aviv in 1943 under the editorship of Mordekhai *Bentov as Ha-Shomer, it became Al ha-Mishmar five years later after Ha-Shomer ha-Z a’ir merged with Ah dut ha-Avodah into Mapam. The newspaper was both a voice of the strident left-wing of the Zionist movement and the more inward-looking network of agricultural settlements. A quality newspaper, it covered national and international developments as well as local kibbutz news. In its earlier days its journalistic style was of a party organ. Yet its literary pages in particular were open to non-party voices. Its journalistic workforce consisted of members of kibbutzim on loan to work on the newspaper. After Bentov was elected a Mapam member of the Knesset, he was replaced as editor by Ya’akov Amit. Other editors of the paper were Marek Geffen, H ayyim Shaw, Sever Plotzkur, and Zvi Timor. In later years the paper’s style was characterized by less ideological rigidity. Its staff included not only kibbutz members but also professional journalists. Its readership reached 15,000-18,000, but 10,000 of these were kibbutz subscriptions. Its circulation declined to 8,000 in the 1990s after kibbutz members were no longer required to read the paper. Their preference for the non-party commercial press, and for television over neswspa-pers, together the financial problems which struck the kibbutz movement, caused the paper to close in March 2005.

ALHANATI, DAVID

(1908-1990), Greek attorney and community activist. Alhanati was born in Athens to a mixed Ro-maniote/Sephardi family from Ioannina and Larisa. He studied law at the University of Athens and from 1935 until 1942 he was legal advisor to the Jewish Communities of Greece and served on its board. During World War ii, he fought in the Greek army on the Albanian front in 1940-41, was arrested by the Italians in 1942 as a prominent member of the Athenian Jewish community, and during the German occupation from September 24, 1943, went into hiding in the mountains and found refuge with a Greek friend in Pirgos until the liberation. Previously, he had assisted Rabbi Barzilai when he was pressed to hand over community lists to the Germans, and burned the Athenian community Jewish archives.

In 1945, he founded the Board of Jewish Communities of Greece (kis) and served as its first chairman. He also founded the opaie Organization of Rehabilitation of Jews in Greece and was its vice president from 1945 until 1952. He represented the Jewish community of Greece in war trials held in the late 1940s and 1950s in Greece against Jewish and German Nazi collaborators. In 1945-46, together with the Mosad le-Aliyah Bet, he helped organize the voyage of four boats of illegal immigrants from Greece and Northern Europe departing from the Sounion coast, southeast of Athens, to Erez Israel. He established two hakhsharah (training) farms in 1945, which housed ma’pilim ("illegal" immigrants), as they waited for their departure to Erez Israel.

Alhanati was president of the Union of Greek Zionists (1965-84), was Greek delegate to the 26th and 27th World Zionist Congresses, and was president of the Jewish National Fund in Greece from 1965 until his later years. He also was secretary-general of the HELLAS-Israel organization and a lifetime member of B’nai B’rith.

In Athens, Alhanati also represented the legal interests of the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Agency, and worked together with the Joint Distribution Committee to rebuild the lives of Greek Holocaust survivors and help Jewish refugees from Arab Middle Eastern countries and the former Eastern Bloc of the Soviet Union reach the West for relocation.

AL HA-NISSIM

(Heb"for the miracles"), thanks giving prayer added to the penultimate benediction of the Amidah and to the Grace after Meals on Hanukkah and Purim. The prayer starts with a general introduction: "For the miracles, the redemption, the mighty deeds, the saving acts, and the (victorious) wars, which Thou didst for our fathers in former times at this season." On H anukkah a condensed account of the Hasmonean Revolt is added. The opening words of this section "In the days of Mattathias, the Hasmonean, son of Johanan the high priest…" present some difficulties owing to an apparent confusion between Jonathan, the high priest, and Johanan, father of Mattathias the Hasmonean. The additional recitation for Purim briefly retells the story of Purim. This prayer dates back to talmudic times (Shab. 24a). Several ancient sources also have the addition "as Thou hast done for them, thus perform for us, Lord our God, miracles and wonders, in our days" (Sof. 20:8, also SiddurR. Amram Gaon, Seder Hanukkah, and Siddur R. Saadyah Gaon, 256), but the prayer books omit this phrase on the halakhic principle that petitions and thanksgivings should be kept separate (Sh. Ar., oh 682:1). An imitative form of Al ha-Nissim was inserted into the Amidah and the Grace after Meals on the local Purims (see Special *Purims), and an attempt has been made to establish the recitation of such a prayer on Independence Day in Israel.

AL-HARIZI, JUDAH BEN SOLOMON

(1165-1225), Hebrew poet and translator. He was born in Spain, very likely in Christian Toledo, a city that at this time preserved Arabic culture and that he describes with particular detail; however, there are no conclusive proofs of it, and other places have also been suggested. His education in this cultural atmosphere made him familiar with Arabic and Hebrew language and literature. Al-Harizi was a member of a wealthy family which became impoverished, and was therefore dependent on patrons.

He spent some years in Provence, where he translated several Arabic works into Hebrew for the non-Arabic speaking Jews and participated in the ideological disputes of the time, returning to Spain in 1190; in 1205 he was in Toledo and wrote a poem on the death of Joseph ben Shoshan. During discussions of the work of Maimonides he defended the Master against the anti-rationalist rabbis from Toledo. Some time later he left Spain to travel to the Orient. He first went to Marseilles, and from there he sailed to Egypt; in 1215 he arrived in Alexandria and from there he visited Cairo, later continuing to Palestine, Syria, and Iraq. According to the information that he gives us in one of his works, in 1218 he was in Jerusalem. Damascus, Aleppo, Mosul, and Baghdad were among the cities visited. He mentions seeing the tombs of the prophet Ezekiel and of Ezra in Susa. The ten last years of his life, until his death in Aleppo in 1225, are now much better known thanks to important documents discovered and published in recent years. J. Sadan published in 1996 an Arabic biography written by Ibn al-Sha’ar al-Mawsili in a work on the poets of his time (the first half of the 13th century). There are also many details about his travels in his Tahkemoni as well as in an Arabic description, Al-rawdah al-antqah ("The Pleasant Garden"), written by Al-Harizi himself in his last years, which has been published and annotated by Y. Yahalom and Y. Blau (2002).

We do not know exactly the reasons for Al-Harizi’s travels. Scholars usually allude to his curiosity, to spiritual motifs, like the love for Zion, to the search for rich patrons in the Orient, etc. Al-Harizi’s visits to these countries helped to acquaint the Jewish communities there with Spanish-Hebrew culture. Most of his compositions were written during his travels and contain reflections on his experiences. He wrote many poems in honor of the prominent Jewish men of these communities, both satirizing their defects and praising their virtues, and used to revise what he had previously written, sometimes leaving different versions of his writings.

Al-Harizi’s most important literary translation is his Hebrew rendering of the maqamat of the Arabic poet Al-Hariri (Bosra, d. 1121), which he entitled Mahbarot Itiel ("Notebooks of Ithiel"), completed before 1218. His translation of the maqama, an Arabic literary form in rhyming prose, attains the quality of an original composition, and imparts a Hebrew flavor to Al-Hariri’s typically Arabic art; it reproduces the elusive word play and ornate style of the original. Al-Harizi’s translation contained 50 maqamat of which only a portion of the first and 26 of the subsequent maqamat have been preserved. The Mahbarot Itiel were published by Th. Chenery (1872), and more recently by Y. Peretz (1951).

Al-Harizi himself used this form for his major work Sefer Tahkemoni ("The Wise One"?), completed after 1220; he was among the first to use this genre in Hebrew literature. Its 50 maqamat show Al-Hariri’s influence, being at the same time his way of showing the possibilities of the Hebrew language and of defending its usage. The language, rhymed prose with some poems intermingled in the text, is taken from the Bible and is often a mosaic of biblical quotations. The different addressees of the work that appear in the manuscripts are not surprisingly Oriental Jews, as Al-Harizi composed this topic in his travels through the Orient, from one country to the other, or, as he says, from Egypt to Babylon.

The maqamat of the Tahkemoni begin with a narrative frame introduced by the narrator, Heman the Ezrahite, who represents in many cases the opinion of the writer. The main character, Heber the Kenite, resembles the heroes of the Arabic maqama in his nature, a roguish polymath and rhymester. He appears in many different forms and is only recognized at the end of the narratives, after having shown his abilities and wisdom. The book includes love ditties, fables, proverbs, riddles, disputes, and satirical sketches, such as the descriptions of a flea and a defense by a rooster about to be slaughtered.

Apart from its literary merit and brilliant, incisive style, the Tahkemoni also throws valuable light on the state of Hebrew culture of the period, and describes the scholars and leaders of the communities visited by the author. Al-Harizi gives vivid descriptions of the worthies of Toledo, the poets of Thebes, a debate between a *Rabbanite and a *Karaite, and conditions in Jerusalem. The Tahkemoni also contains critical evaluations of earlier and contemporary poets, although Al-Harizi’s appraisal of his contemporaries is not always reliable and occasionally misses their most essential features.

In spite of the existence of many manuscripts, and of the edition of Sefer Tahkemoni by Obadia Sabak (Constantinople, 1578) and the more modern ones by de Lagarde (1883; 1925); by A. Kaminka (1899); by Y. Toporowsky (1952), etc., no critical edition of the Tahkemoni has been published. Several of the maqamat were translated into Latin, English, French, German, and Hungarian. There is an English translation by V.E. Reichert, The Tahkemoni of Judah al-Harizi, an English translation, 2 vols. (Jerusalem, R.H. Cohen’s Press, 1965); and a new one by David S. Segal, The Book of Tahkemoni: Jewish Tales from Medieval Spain (Portland, Oregon, Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2001), with a long section dedicated to the analyses of each maqama and a detailed bibliography. A Spanish translation, with introduction and notes, appeared in 1988: Las asambleas de los sabios (Tahkemoni), by C. del Valle (Murcia: Univ. de Murcia).

Al-Harizi also wrote the Sefer ha-Anak ("The Necklace"), a collection of 257 short poems on moral and pious themes, mainly composed in two stanzas with rhyming puns (like the book of the same name by Moshe Ibn Ezra). It was published by H. Brody, Sefer ha-Anak, in Festschrift Harkavy (1908); and by A. Avronim (Tel Aviv, 1945).

In one of the last maqamat of the Tahkemoni Al-Harizi includes more than 170 Hebrew poems according to the Anda-lusian tradition. In his stay in the Orient he wrote also poems in Arabic and sometimes, in Hebrew and Arabic. A number of his poems not included in the Tahkemoni and Sefer ha-Anak are extant in manuscript. Yahalom and Blau have published an autographic letter found in the Genizah.

Al-H arizi was notably active as translator of philosophical, halakhic, and medical works from Arabic to Hebrew. Under the Hebrew title Muserei ha-Filosofim he translated for the sages of Lunel the Adab al-Falasifa ("Dicta of the Philosophers") of Hunain ibn Ish ak, a collection of proverbs synthesizing Greek and Arabic wisdom literature. This translation was published by Loewenthal in Frankfurt/Main in 1896.

The most important of his prose translations is that of *Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim (Guide of the Perplexed, published by A.L. Schlossberg, London 1851-79; reprint Tel Aviv, 1952). Al-H arizi, who translated the book after Samuel ibn *Tibbon for some Jews of Marseille, intended to render it simply and clearly, employing biblical Hebrew. In spite of two topics added by him explaining difficult words and describing the contents of the topics, the translation was considered of literary value but failing in accuracy. For this reason it was received with much criticism, and Ibn Tibbon’s translation is generally preferred (Y. Shiffman, Journal of Semitic Studies, 44/1 (1999), 47-61). It was, however, through Al-H arizi’s translation that Maimonides’ ideas were propagated in the Christian world. An anonymous Latin translation of the Guide, published in Paris by Agostino *Giustiniani in 1520, is based on Al-H arizi’s translation and was used by the English schoolmen. Al-H arizi’s version also served as the basis for Pedro de Toledo’s Spanish translation (published by M. La-zar according to the Ms. 10289, B.N. Madrid, in 1989, Culver City, Calif: Labyrinthos).

Al-H arizi translated in Lunel, for Jonathan ha-Kohen, Maimonides’ introduction to the Mishnah and his commentary on the first five tractates of the Mishnah order Zera’im. He also translated other minor works, like the Medicine of the Body (Ferrara, 1552) and a few short works attributed to Aristotle or Galen.

Al-H arizi’s prominence in medieval letters is due both to his light, entertaining, and allusive style, and to the variety of his subject matter. In consonance with the tendencies of the time in Romance literature, his descriptions of nature are more realistic than those generally found in other Spanish Hebrew poets, with a feeling for the rural life and the animal world. He described storms at sea and, with the exception of *Samuel b. Joseph ha-Nagid, was the only medieval Hebrew poet to describe battle scenes.

As a Musical Writer

Al-H arizi’s Hebrew translation of H unain’s Adab al-Falasifa contains, in its first part. As usual in adab-literature, the text consists of sayings and aphorisms uttered by ancient Greek philosophers or other famous men. They deal with the miraculous power of music, its influence on soul, temperament and even animal life, its therapeutic value, and the like. Al-H arizi was the first to introduce these ideas of late Hellenism, which had been transmitted by H unain to Arab philosophy, into Jewish philosophical and musical thought. Circulating in many manuscripts and a print of 1562, they were continually perused and quoted as a source of musical knowledge, and even as late as 1680 by Shabbetai *Bass.

As the original Arabic text has not yet been published from the manuscripts, Al-H arizi’s Hebrew version and its modern (though inadequate) translations serve as sole source to students of musical history up to now. The topics on music in Arabic were edited by A. Shiloah (1958), who showed that Al-H arizi’s text is governed by a deep understanding of this intricate subject.

ALHAYK, UZZIEL BEN MORDECAI

(1740?-1820?), Tunisian rabbi. Alhayk was born in Tunis where his father was a dayyan and communal leader. He studied in the yeshivah of Nathan b. Abraham *Bordjel, the greatest scholar of Tunis, and under David b. Moses Najar. He was appointed rabbi of the Portuguese community in Tunis. Most of his rulings deal with financial problems and testify to his great juristic ability. Alhayk was very familiar with business and economic problems, and it is possible that he himself engaged in business. His responsa are an important source for the history of the Jews of Tunis of his time. He became friendly with H ayyim Joseph David *Azulai during the visit of the latter to Tunis in 1774. He collected the takkanot of Tunis which he published in his Mishkenot ha-Ro’im (102aff.; Leghorn, 1860), his most important work, comprising alphabetically arranged articles on the Shulh an Arukh. It deals primarily with civil law and, to a lesser extent, with laws of marriage. Many of the articles consist of his own responsa and rulings. He wrote Hayyim va-Hesed (Leghorn, 1865), sermons delivered between 1767 and 1810, including eulogies on Tunisian sages and other contemporaries.

AL H ET

(Heb"for the sin"), first words of a formula of confession of sins (and of each line in the formula) recited on the *Day of Atonement. The confession of sins during the afternoon *Amidah on the eve of the Day of Atonement and in every Amidah (and repetition of the Amidah) on the day itself, with the exception of that of the *Ne’ilah service, is required according to a baraita (Yoma 87b). In talmudic times, apparently, any expression admitting sinfulness sufficed, but in time a set form of confession evolved. There are two such forms: *Ashamnu, known as the "Shorter Confession," and Al Het, the "Great Confession" (so called in the *Mahzor Vitry, 374; Siddur Rashi, 96; and Ha-Manhig, 60a).

Al Het contains a list of sins in alphabetical order, two sins being allotted to every letter. Each line begins: "For the sin we have sinned before Thee." After the 44 sins in alphabetical order, another nine lines are added enumerating sins according to their prescribed punishments. The recitation is divided into four parts. After each, the formula, "And for all these, O God of forgiveness, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement, is chanted during the readers repetition. The list of sins embraces the specific (e.g., unchastity) and the general (e.g., those committed "unwittingly"), but sins of a ritual nature are not included. The whole confession is in the first person plural, perhaps as an expression of the doctrine of collective responsibility.

The authorship of the Al Het is unknown. It is first mentioned in the She’iltot of Ahai Gaon (eighth century) and an abbreviated and probably more original form is found in the Seder Rav Amram. The Christian Didache (second century) also contains traces of an earlier Jewish alphabetical confession suggesting that this arrangement is very ancient. In the Sephardi rite the alphabetical arrangement is only one letter for each sin, but in some this is followed by a reverse-order alphabetical arrangement. The Yemenites use a shortened version. There are many textual variants of Al Het according to different rites; an interesting example of the confession apparently used in pre-expulsion England is contained in the Ez Hayyim (ed. I. Brodie, 1 (1962), i02ff.). It is customary to recite Al Het while standing with the head bowed, and to beat one’s breast at the mention of each sin. In Reform usage the Al Het has been considerably shortened.

ALI

(Ben David; I2th-i3th century), physician and poet. Ali, who lived in the Near East, probably in Syria, influenced poets in his time and exchanged verses with them. The ten poems which he wrote to his friend Aaron ha-Kohen (possibly Aaron ha-Kohen b. Marion of Acre), and Aaron’s ten poems for Ali, are preserved in the Cairo Genizah, the former apparently in Ali’s handwriting. These metrical poems express mutual praise and longing and reflect the influence of Spanish poetry. Several poems, written when the two friends were separated, express sorrow at the unfortunate fate of kindred souls. Some of the poems found in the Genizah which are signed "Ali," are presumably by him.

ALIAV

(Kluger), RUTH (1914-1980), the only female member of Mosad Le-Aliyah Bet, the organization which saved Jews from the Holocaust by smuggling them into Erez Israel, in defiance of the restrictions on immigration imposed by the Mandatory Government (see "Illegal" "Immigration). The name Aliav, given to her by David Ben-Gurion, is an anagram of Aliyah Bet.

Aliav was born in Kiev; her family later settled in Cz-ernowitz, Romania. She immigrated to Erez Israel in 1934 and settled with her husband on a kibbutz. She was one of the founding members of the Mosad and in 1939 returned to Romania to organize the escape of Jews and their illegal immigration to Erez Israel. In 1941, when further rescue work became impossible, she fled to Turkey from which she proceeded to Egypt to continue her rescue activities in bringing Jews from Arab countries.

From 1942 to 1945 she worked closely with the French and Dutch Resistance movements in Europe, became a colonel in the *Haganah, and was appointed by David Ben-Gu-rion as the only official Israeli representative in Europe. She was the first woman to enter the concentration camps upon their liberation. She continued her activities until 1947, serving directly under Ben-Gurion.

In 1947 she was awarded the Croix de la Lorraine by General de Gaulle, and the Legion d’Honneur of France. After the establishment of the State of Israel she headed the public relations and press department of Zim, the Israeli Navigation Company which evolved out of the "Illegal Immigration" ships of the Haganah; was the Israeli president of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women; and was honorary life president of the International Public Relations Associations. Her book, The Last Escape, is a dramatic account of her two years’ activity in Romania.

ALIBAG

Indian town on the Konkan Coast, south of Bombay; formerly the leading settlement of the *Bene Israel community. Its synagogue, "Magen Avot," was founded in 1840 (rebuilt in 1910) on the initiative of the hakham Shalom Shur-rabi, author and sponsor of liturgical works for the Bene Israel community. Alibag was the favorite resort of retired military personnel of the Bene Israel group and the center of Hebrew instruction for youth from neighboring Bene Israel settlements. The historian of the community, Hayyim Samuel *Ke-himkar, was born in Alibag. The synagogue in Alibag was still functioning in the beginning of the 21st century.

ALI BEN AMRAM

(second half of the 11th century), religious head of the Palestinian community in Fostat (Old Cairo), Egypt. Ali was the colleague and eventually successor of R. *Ephraim b. Shemariah, who bore the honorary title of he-haver ha-me’ulleh ("most excellent scholar"). In a letter, written about 1060, that was found in the Cairo Genizah, Ali addressed the court physician Abraham b. Isaac ha-Kohen b. Furat, informing him that on Sabbaths and holidays he would receive public recognition in the synagogue for his virtuous acts. Two letters addressed to Ali from Palestine concerning the Jews in Tiberias and one intro-ducing Moses b. Joseph, a Spanish scholar on diplomatic assignment, were also discovered in the Genizah. Ali was the author of a lengthy poem, extant in manuscript, dedicated to one Ali b. Mevasser. Two letters from the gaon Daniel b. Azariah to Ali have been preserved: in one, the gaon expresses his great confidence in Ali and gratitude for his kindnesses; in the other, the gaon asks Ali to hand over to the bearer contributions that had been collected in Fustat, probably for the yeshivah in Jerusalem. Ali was also in close touch with *Samuel ha-Nagid and his sons Jehoseph and Eliasaph in Granada.

ALI (or Eli) BEN ZECHARIAH

(13th century), gaon and head of the Pumbedita academy. Ali was born in the town of Erbil (now Iraq), and lived in Baghdad. From Arab sources it appears that while *Daniel b. Samuel ha-Kohen ibn Abi-Rabia was the gaon of the academy, Ali made a claim for the post. The dispute came before the vizier, who in 1250 decided in favor of Ali and appointed him gaon (chiefjudge, as the office is designated in Arab sources). The poet *Eleazar b. Jacob ha-Bavli composed a poem in Ali’s honor. Although Baghdad was captured by the Mongols in 1258, during Ali’s gaonate, the office continued to exist. Of Ali’s sons, two are known: Zechariah, who was deputy head of the academy, and Isaac, referred to as "prince."

ALIENS ACT

Measure enacted by the British parliament in 1905 which restricted immigration into Britain from areas outside the British Empire; it is generally believed to have been chiefly a response to heavy East European Jewish immigration into Britain after 1880. (In British law, the age-old term "alien" is used to designate someone who is not a citizen of Britain or its Empire; it has no derogatory connotations.) Agitation to restrict Jewish immigration began in the 1880s and became more outspoken through the actions of a number of right-wing groups and activists. In 1902, a Royal Commission was held into this question which recommended that there should be no general restriction on immigration but that "undesirable" migrants should be excluded. By the Act of 1905, would-be immigrants had to disembark only at a designated port, where officials could deny entry to "undesirable" immigrants, especially those without means of support. Historians have generally believed that the Aliens Act reduced East European Jewish immigration to Britain by about one-third in the years 1905-14. Recent research, however, has suggested that the Act had only limited effects, and that immigration declined because of perceptions of much greater economic opportunity in America. As Britain had no immigration restrictions prior to the 1905 Act, plainly something like it was inevitable. In 1919, following World War 1, the 1905 Act was replaced by a much more stringent one which virtually ended Jewish immigration to Britain until the 1930s.

ALIGER, MARGARITA YOSIFOVNA

(1915-1992), Russian poet. Aliger was born in Odessa and began to publish verse in 1933. Her prewar collections, God rozhdeniya ("Year of Birth," 1938) and Kamni i travy ("Stones and Herbs," 1940) although somewhat imitative and conventional, showed an unusual lyrical gift. She achieved fame in 1942 with her long poem Zoya (Stalin Prize, 1943) based on newspaper accounts of the life and death of a Moscow schoolgirl who fought behind the German lines during the defense of Moscow. In her long poem, "Tvoya pobeda" ("Your Victory"), Aliger, for the first time, turned to a Jewish theme and, while declaring unreserved love for her Russian homeland, bitterly complained about the historical injustice of German and Russian antisem-itism. Expunged from subsequent editions of the poem, the passage in question widely circulated in manuscript during the 1940s and the 1950s. The poem reflected the ideological and emotional crisis of the Communist Jewish intelligentsia, brought about by the Holocaust and the upsurge of overt an-tisemitism in the U.S.S.R. during World War 11. A number of her poems were translated into English by Elaine Feinstein (Collected Poems and Translations, 2002).

ALI IBN SAHL IBN RABBAN ALTABARl

(ninth century), physician and medical writer in Iraq. He was born in Tabaristan, south of the Caspian Sea, son of a well-known Jewish astronomer and mathematician, Sahl ibn Rabban, whose greatest astronomical feat was his translation into Arabic of the Almagest of Ptolemy around 800. Because of civil disturbances Ali moved to Raiy, in the vicinity of Teheran, and became the teacher of Muhammad al-Razi, the Muslim medieval scholar and mystic. He then took the post of secretary to Mazyar ibn Qarin, prince of his native Tabaristan, and became a Muslim and a leading figure at the courts of the caliphs al-Mu’tasim and al-Mutawakkil. His medical writings, especially the Firdaws al-Hikma ("Garden of Wisdom"), a medical compendium in seven parts (edited by Max Meyerhof), introduced Indian medical lore to Arab readers and to contemporary Western medicine. His other works include treatises on diet, on the proper care of health, on amulets and magic, on cupping and similar subjects. He also wrote a book in praise of Islam called Kitab al-Dtn wa al-Dawla ("The Book of Religion and Empire").

ALI IBN SULEIMAN

(c. 1200), Karaite exegete and philosopher. It is conjectured that he was a member of the Karaite academy in Jerusalem. Ali’s literary activity was mainly confined to publishing older Karaite works in abridged form. These include (1) an Arabic commentary on the Torah (parts on Num. and Deut., preserved in manuscript in the British Museum and in Leningrad); (2) a compilation in Arabic of the compendium of *Abu al-Faraj Harun on he Torah (Ms. Sulzberger, in the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York; another part in the second Firkowitsch Collection in Leningrad); (3) the Agron, a dictionary of Hebrew rootwords in Arabic, based on the work of David *Alfasi, but incorporating several Hebrew roots and derivatives omitted by Alfasi, and explaining biblical terms by reference to the Mishnah, Talmud, and Targums (Ms. Leningrad); and (4) a philosophical treatise (manuscript in British Museum).

ALISTAL

(Slov. Dolny Stal, today Hrobonovo; Heb.village in Slovakia, near Bratislava.

A community was established at Alistal in the 14th century by Jews from Bohemia and Moravia, who exported horses from the nearby royal stables. A synagogue was built in 1579. A community is mentioned again in records of 1780. Jews without residential rights in Pressburg (Bratislava) were enabled to live in Alistal under royal protection. In 1929 the Jewish population in Alistal and environs numbered 259; approximately half were occupied in agriculture. The community came to an end during World War 11.

ALITURUS or ALITYROS

(first century), Roman actor; *Josephus, in his autobiography, describes him as a special favorite of the emperor Nero and of Jewish origin. He relates how, going to intercede for three priests who had been sent to Rome in bonds by Felix, procurator of Judea, on a "trifling charge," he won the friendship of the actor, who introduced him to the empress Poppaea. With her aid he secured a pardon for the priests. The Polish novelist Sienkiewicz introduced "the actor Aliturus" in his Quo Vadis as Nero’s instructor in the use of gesture in oratory.

ALIYAH

(Heb‘), (1) the coming of Jews to the Land of Israel as olim (fem.: olot; sing.: oleh, olah) for permanent residence; (2) Jews coming from a particular country or region, or during a particular period, for this purpose, e.g., the Polish aliyah, the First Aliyah. Aliyah means more than immigration: it is a major ideal of *Zionism and the primary means for its realization. It implies personal participation in the rebuilding of the Jewish homeland and the elevation of the individual to a higher plane of self-fulfillment as a member of the renascent nation.

In earlier years the majority of olim were inspired by idealistic motives and even during the period of mass aliyah, when the main driving force was persecution and distress, many were motivated by messianic yearnings and there was always an infusion of idealists. Aliyah has been an almost uninterrupted process ever since the crushing of Jewish resistance by the Romans, but the term has been used particularly in connection with the modern Jewish return to the Land of Israel. Five major waves have been distinguished during the period of Zionist resettlement, each of which played its part in molding the yishuv, the Jewish community which constituted the Jewish state in embryo.

The First Aliyah, 1882-1903, consisted of individuals and small groups, mainly under the inspiration of *Hibbat Zion and the *Bilu movement, who established the early moshavot (see *moshavah). Some 25,000 – mostly from Eastern Europe – arrived during this period. There were two main influxes: in 1882-84 and 1890-91.

The Second Aliyah, 1904-14, which laid the foundation for the labor movement, consisted mainly of pioneers from Eastern Europe, who generally worked as hired laborers in the moshavot or the cities. They established the first Jewish labor parties and self-help institutions, the *Ha-Shomer watchmen’s association, and the first kevuzot (see *kibbutz), and laid the foundations for a new Hebrew press and literature. The influx, which totaled about 40,000, was interrupted by the outbreak of World War 1.

The Third Aliyah, 1919-23, which started immediately after World War 1, contained many young pioneers (halutzim) belonging to the *He-H alutz and "Ha-Shomer ha-Z a’ir movements. Together with the veterans of the Second Aliyah, they established the "Histadrut and "Gedud ha-Avodah, worked on road-building, set up more kevuzot and kibbutzim, and founded the first "moshavim. Over 35,000 arrived during this period.

The Fourth Aliyah, 1924-28, which totaled some 67,000, contained many middle-class olim, over half of them from Poland. Some four-fifths settled in the main cities, considerably increasing the urban population, building new quarters, and setting up workshops and small factories. Development was halted by an unemployment crisis in 1926-28.

The Fifth Aliyah, 1929-39, accounted for an influx of over 250,000 Jews and transformed the character of the yi-shuv. A prominent part was played by refugees from Nazi Germany, over a quarter of the total, who transferred large amounts of capital and contributed valuable skills and business experience.

Aliyah continued during and after World War 11, totaling about 100,000 in 1940-48 (sometimes referred to as the Sixth and Seventh Aliyot). Under British rule (1918-48) aliyah was regulated by the Government of Palestine. The official criterion for the numbers admitted was, in normal periods, the country’s "economic absorptive capacity," on which the British authorities and Jewish leaders did not agree, but in periods of crisis aliyah was often halted or severely restricted on political grounds. Between 1934 and 1948, some 115,000 olim were brought into the country in defiance of British restrictions, while another 51,500 were interned by the authorities in Cyprus and admitted only after the achievement of independence. This influx was described by the British as "illegal" "immigration and by the Jews as Aliyah Bet or ha’palah.

Independent Israel immediately removed all restrictions on aliyah and enacted the "Law of Return (1950), which guaranteed every Jew the right to immigrate to Israel as an oleh, unless he or she was a danger to public health or security, and to become a citizen immediately on arrival. The mass aliyah that followed the establishment of the State assumed the character of kibbuzgaluyyot ("the "ingathering of the exiles"), almost entire Jewish communities, such as those of Bulgaria, Yemen, and lraq, being transferred to Israel. The resources of the State, as well as massive contributions from world Jewry through the Jewish "Agency, were mobilized for the transportation, reception, and integration of the olim. Mass aliyah -mainly from Eastern and Central Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East – resulted in the immigration of over a million and a quarter Jews in Israel’s first two decades, the influx rising to its greatest heights in 1948-51 (684,000), 1955-57 (161,000), and 1961-64 (220,000). After the Six-Day War of 1967 there was a considerable increase in "voluntary" aliyah from Western Europe and the Americas. In the 1970s, as a result of pressure from Israel and other Western countries, the U.S.S.R. opened its gates, enabling more than 150,000 Jews to make aliyah. The majority arrived until 1973, and later on many of them left Israel and moved to other Western countries. The next massive aliyah from the U.S.S.R. began in 1989 when it reestablished relations with Israel. In 1990-91, 350,000 Russian immigrants arrived in Israel, and by 2003, over a million had emigrated from the former Soviet Union, making them the country’s largest immigrant group. The majority were motivated by economic and social factors rather than Zionist ideology. Many were professionals – physicians, engineers, musicians, etc. – and by the end of the 1990s over 30% were non-Jews (as opposed to 10% in the 1990-95 period), benefiting from Israel’s liberal Law of Return, which accords the right to immigrate to non-Jewish descendants of Jews. Though their absorption in the country was often difficult, they became a highly visible and influential population group in the course of the years.

During the same period Israel also faced aliyah from Ethiopia. The first olim arrived at the end of the 1970s, after R. Ovadiah "Yosef acknowledged their Jewishness. About 5,000 arrived independently at refugee camps in Sudan and were brought from there to Israel. As many of them lost their lives on the way, the Israeli government initiated Operation Moses at the end of 1984, in which 8,000 were airlifted to Israel in a 45-day period. In 1985, Sudan closed its borders and the Ethiopian aliyah ceased. In May 1991, it was renewed, with another 14,000 arriving in a dramatic 36-hour airlift (Operation Solomon). Since then, more have arrived in small groups, bringing the total of Ethiopian Jewry to 80,000 in 2002. Their integration into the country’s life, socially and economically, has been extremely problematic, though the younger generation is being steadily "Israelified."