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Rabbi Efraim Navon, A 17th Century Turkish Rabbinic Leader

Thursday, February 18 2010
<p> Rabbi Naftali Haleva, who received his rabbinic ordination at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University and graduated from the David J. Azrieli Graduate İnstitute of Jewish Education, serves as rabbi in Turkish Rabbinate and Ortakoy Ets Ahayim Synagogue and teacher in Jewish school in İstanbul  .<br />   </p>

SOME STARS HAVE LIMITED OR TEMPORARY LIGHT; SOME STARS ENLIGTHEN AND INFLUENCE THE WORLD ALL THE TIME. IN THE JEWISH WORLD, THE GREAT SAGES ENLIGHTENED THEIR ENVIRONMENT BY THEIR ENORMOUS RICH TORAH KNOWLEDGE DURING THEIR LIFETIMES. HOWEVER SOME RABBIS ALSO GAVE DIRECTION TO THE JEWISH WORLD BY THEIR TORAH WISDOM AND HAD A HUGE IMPACT THROUGHOUT HISTORY BY CREATING NEW APPROACHES.

RAV EFRAIM NAVON BORN IN ISTANBUL WROTE THE MAGNIFICIENT BOOK "MAHANE EFRAIM" DEALING WITH THE LAWS IN TALMUD AND HALAKHIC LITERATURE. THIS OUTSTANDING BOOK CONTINUES TO BE STUDIED IN THE EAST AND WEST, AND IN THE YESHIVOT IN ISRAEL.

RABBI HAYYIM YOSEF DAVID AZULAI (HIDA), IN HIS BOOK "SHEM AGEDOLIM", STATES THAT RAV EFRAIM NAVON WAS A MASTER OF TORAH AND A SPECIAL PERSONALITY.

RAV EFRAIM NAVON, SON OF RAV AARON WAS BORN IN 1677(5437) IN ISTANBUL. HE MARRIED THE DAUGHTER OF RAV YEUDA ERGAZ. HE MOVED TO JERUSALEM WITH HIS FATHER-IN-LAW IN 1700. HE BECAME FAMOUS BY HIS TORAH WISDOM IN JERUSALEM. DURING THE ALMOST 20 YEARS THAT HE LIVED THERE. AS STATED IN HIDA'S "SHEM AGEDOLIM," HE COMMITTED HIMSELF DAY AND NIGHT TO TORAH EDUCATION.

WHEN ECONOMIC CONDITIONS DETERIORATED IN JERUSALEM, HE WAS SENT AS SHALIAH(AMBASSADOR) TO THE DIASPORA BY THE CITY ADMINISTRATORS.
HE VISITED DIFFERENT JEWISH COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE BORDERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE, AND WAS RECEIVED WARMLY EVERYWHERE HE WENT. HE FOUND SOLUTIONS TO HALAKHIC PROBLEMS OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES. HE STATES IN HIS OWN BOOK THAT HE SHOWED UTMOST EFFORT TO ASSIST AND TO GIVE ANSWERS TO QUESTONS ABOUT JEWISH LAW WHEREEVER HE WENT.
THERE WERE MANY AGUNA PROBLEMS IN THOSE TIMES. DUE TO THE POOR ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, MEN TRAVELED FROM HOME TO FIND WORK. SOME OF THESE HUSBANDS DID NOT RETURN HOME, AND THE WIVES HAD NO INFORMATION AS TO WHETHER THEIR HUSBANDS WERE DEAD OR ALIVE. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FOR THE RABBIS WAS TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THOSE WOMEN ABOUT HOW TO SURVIVE AND REMARRY. RAV NAVON WAS ABLE TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO MANY CASES BY HIS SPECIAL PERSONALITY AND TORAH WISDOM.
IN 1720, RAV EFRAIM MADE A VISIT TO EDIRNE (ADR?ANOPOLE). FOR A SHORT TIME HE SETTLED THERE. HOWEVER, SINCE HE BECAME VERY FAMOUS IN A SHORT TIME, HE EARNED THE "MARE DE-ATRA" STATUS (THE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY OF THE REGION) OF EDIRNE.

IN 1721, RAV EFRAIM RETURNED TO ISTANBUL, HIS BIRTHPLACE, AFTER 20 YEARS OF TRAVELS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY. AT THAT TIME, RAV YEUDA ROSANES, THE GREAT SCHOLAR AND AUTHOR OF THE BOOK "MISHNE LAMELEH" WAS SERVING AS THE CHIEF RABBI IN ISTANBUL. RAV YEUDA ROSANES KNEW RAV NAVON'S WISDOM FROM HIS YOUTH. THE RABBIS IN ISTANBUL, BECAUSE OF THEIR GREAT RESPECT AND LOVE FOR RAV NAVON, ASKED HIM TO BECOME THE RELIGIOUS JUDGE OF HIS BIRTHPLACE. SO RAV NAVON STARTED TO SERVE AS DAYAN (JUDGE) IN ISTANBUL.

THE PEOPLE OF THAT PERIOD WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO BE LED BY THE GREAT RABBIS YEUDA ROZANES AND RABBI EFRAIM NAVON. EVEN WHEN HE WAS LIVING IN ISTANBUL, RAV EFRAIM OFTEN EXPRESSED HIS LOVE FOR ISRAEL. ACCORDING TO HIM, VISITING THE GRAVES OF TSAD?K?M IN ISRAEL OR SETTLING IN ISRAEL ARE BIG MITZVOT. A COMMITEE WAS ESTABLISHED IN ISTANBUL UNDER THE NAME "VAAD PEKUDE ERETZ YISRAEL - THE ISRAELI CIVIL SERVANTS COMMISSION" BY THE JEWISH COMMUNITIES LIVING IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE TO PROVIDE HELP FOR THE JEWS LIVING IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL. RAV EFRAIM PERSONALLY GAVE THE LETTERS OF AUTHORIZATION TO THE DELEGATES OF THIS COMMISSION FOR DESIGNATION AND TAX COLLECTION. HE ALSO UNDERSIGNED THE AUTHORIZATION LETTERS FOR THE ISRAELI DELEGATES WHO WERE SENT FROM ISRAEL TO COLLECT CONTRIBUTIONS. ALL THE DOCUMENTS WHICH ARE SIGNED BY RAV EFRAIM AND THE DELEGATES WHO WERE PERSONALLY AUTHORIZED BY HIM, WERE ACCEPTED WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, BECAUSE OF HIS WISDOM AND GREAT FAME AMONG THE JEWISH COMMUNITIES.

AFTER FOUR YEARS SINCE RETURNING TO ISTANBUL, RAV NAVON'S GREAT FRIEND, CHIEF RABBI YEUDA ROZANES, HAD BECOME ILL. HIS STUDENT, RABBI YAAKOV HULI (AUTHOR OF THE ME'AM LO'EZ) VISITED RABBI YEUDA ROZANES WHO EXPLAINED TO HIM THE BIBLICAL VERSE REFERRING TO THE SABBATICAL YEAR.
JUST AS THE SOIL MUST REST ON THE SEVENTH YEAR, THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE HUMAN BEING MUST ALSO "REST" FROM THIS LIFE. RAV ROZANES NOTED THAT HE WAS SEVENTY YEARS OLD AND HE HAD REACHED HIS "SABBATICAL YEAR". RABBI ROZANES DIED ON THE 8TH DAY OF PASSOVER IN 1727.

RAV NAVON WAS THEN ELECTED AS THE CHIEF RABBI. TORAH SAGES FROM THROUGHOUT THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE TURNED TO HIM FOR GUIDANCE, AND OFFERED WORDS OF PRAISE FOR HIS WISDOM. AMONG HIS ADMIRERS WERE RABBI MOSHE YISRAEL, ONE OF THE GREATEST TORAH SAGES OF THOSE TIMES AND THE AUTHOR OF "MASAT MOSHE"; AND RABBI YESHUA SABADO WHO WAS ONE OF THE LEADINGRABBIS IN EGYPT AND AUTHOR OF "PERAH SHOSHAN".

RABBI NAVON DIED ON THE 26TH OF APRIL, 5495-1735 IN ISTANBUL. HIS GRAVE IS AT THE KUZGUNCUK CEMETERY IN ISTANBUL. HIS MEMORY CONTINUES TO INSPIRE THE JEWS OF TURKEY-AND INDEED TORAH STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.