Who was a Hakham? The Differentiation of Scholarly Status in the Talmud Tora Community of Amsterdam

• In Event: Power and Knowledge in the Seventeenth-Century Portuguese Rabbinate

Abstract

The contract of unification of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam of 1638 (often referred to as the “bylaws”) stipulated that no scholar from outside the community could be called by the title of Hakham when delivering a sermon in the synagogue. This surprising rule reflects a strong communal dimension of the use of titles, such as Señor and Hakham, which were highly valued and at times bitterly contended. However, the historical understanding of who did qualify as a Hakham, and what the cultural meaning of the term was, is quite limited. This paper will offer an analysis of the different types of Hakhamim who were so named in various print and manuscript sources from the time of the unification of the community in 1638 through the death of Rabbi Isaac Aboab da Fonseca in 1693. Special attention will be paid to the question of whether and how the term was used differently to refer to instructors in the yeshivah as opposed to other communally employed scholars; to possible differences between written and oral or private and public norms; and to changes in this usage over time. Based on examination of communal records (i.e., those of the lay leadership), discursive treatments of the community (i.e., sermons, historical or quasi-historical treatments, etc.), and front matter (i.e., approbations, dedications, title pages, etc.), the presenter will characterize the credentials and values deemed necessary to qualify for the title. The issue gets at central questions about changes to the rabbinate that have been identified as characteristic of the early modern period, especially the relationship between a rabbi and his communal leaders and members, and the status of his intellectual, social, and juridical authority and power.

author

• Anne Albert, Katz Center, University of Pennsylvania