Meshulach

A meshulach (Hebrew: מְשׁוּלָּח, romanized: meshullaḥ; plural: meshulachim), also known as a shaliach (Hebrew: שָלִיחַ, romanized: shali'aḥ)^[1] or SHaDaR (Hebrew: שַׁדָּ״ר, acronym for שְׁלוּחָא דְרַבָּנָן),^{[note 1]} was an emissary sent to the Diaspora to raise funds (ḥalukka) for the existence of the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel. The institution of the Emissaries of the Land of Israel, which began in ancient times, developed and contributed greatly to the connection between Diaspora Judaism and the Jews in the Land of Israel, and to the cultural life of the Jewish communities.

Role of the meshulach

Often an individual meshulach may operate as an independent contractor for several different organizations, taking a portion of the proceeds as profit.

Notable meshulachim

1441. Esrim ve-Arba‘ah: Europe
1587. Joseph ben Moses Miṭrani the Elder (or di Ṭrani, 1569–1639): Egypt
1598–1599. Joseph ben Moses Miṭrani the Elder (or di Ṭrani, 1569–1639): Istanbul (first mission)
1600. Judah de Leon: Italy^[2]^: 166
1600s–1606. Joseph ben Moses Miṭrani the Elder (or di Ṭrani, 1569–1639): Istanbul (second mission)
1650. Nathan ben Reuben David Spiro: Italy and Germany^[2]^: 61
1659. Benjamin ha-Levi: the Levant and Italy^[3]^: 593
1670s. Judah Sharaf: Livorno, Italy
1676. Joseph ben Eliezer: Italy and Germany
1676. Joseph Shalit Riqueti: Italy and Germany (with the preceding, author of Iggeret Mesapperet)
1688–1692. Ḥezekiah ben David da Silva (1656–1697): Western Europe (including Amsterdam)
1690. Judah Sharaf: the Levant and Italy^[3]^: 835
1695. Avraham Yitzchaḳi: Italy^[2]^: 206
1695. Shmuel ha-Kohen: Italy, etc.^[2]^: 359
1695. Abraham ben Levi Conque: Italy, Germany, and Poland^[3]^: 154
1700. Hayyim Asael ben Benjamin: Smyrna^[3]^: 895
1705. Gedaliah Hayyim: Italy^[3]^: 664
1709. Nathan Mannheim: Germany and Poland
1709. Jacob of Vilna: Germany and Poland (with the preceding, author of Me’orot Natan)
1710. David Melammed
1712. Hayyim Hazzan^[3]^: 871
1712. Abraham Rovigo^[3]^: 871
1718. Hayyim Jacob ben Jacob David: the Levant and Europe^[3]^: 877
1720. Ephraim ben Aaron Nabon: Italy^[3]^: 518
1730. David Capsoto: Holland^[2]^: 76
1730. Moses Hagiz: the Levant and Europe for a period of 50 years^[4]
1740. Baruch Gad: Media and Persia^[2]^: 58
1740s–1749. Ḥayyim ben Elias Moda‘i
1750. Baruch of Austria^[2]^: 62
1750. Hayyim Joseph David Azulai (1724–1806): the Levant and Europe (including Egypt, Amsterdam, England, and Livorno, for 56 years. His Ma‘agal Yashar contains part of his itinerary)
1750. Hayyim Abraham Tzebi: Italy^[2]^: 115
1750. Hayyim Mordecai Tzebi: Italy, etc.^[3]^: 886
1750. Rahmim Nissim Mizrahi: the Levant and Italy^[2]^: 312
1759. Moses Malki: America^[5]
1760. Hayyim Nissim Jeroham of Vilna: Germany^[6]
1760. Yom-Ṭob al-Ghazi: the Levant and Italy^[2]^: 167
1760s. Ḥayyim ben Elias Moda‘i (1720–1794): Holland (wrote approbation to Pe’er ha-Dor) and elsewhere in Europe
1765. Jacob al-Yashar: Persia
1767. Issachar Abulafia: Italy (wrote approbation to Yad Mal’akhi)
1770. Abraham Solomon Zalmon: Europe^[2]^: 61
1772. Abraham Segre: Germany^[2]^: 25
1773. Raphael Chayyim Isaac Carregal: West Indies and the British Colonies of North America
1776. Jacob Raphael Saraval: Holland and England^[2]^: 206
1780. Judah Samuel Ashkenazi^[2]^: 214
1783. Abraham ha-Kohen of Lask: Germany and Poland
1790. David Hayyim Hazzan: Italy
1793. Yosef Maimon: Bukhara
1796. Joseph Aben Samon: Tripoli (wrote approbation to Ḥayyey Abraham)
1800. Israel of Shklov: Lithuania and Belarus
1804. Israel Raphael Segre^[2]^: 25
1807. Hayyim Baruch of Austria: Germany (wrote approbation to Otsar ha-Ḥayyim)
1810. Solomon David Hazzan: the Levant and Italy^[2]^: 343
1830. Joseph Edels Ashkenazi: Italy^[2]^: 212
1848. Isaac Kovo: Egypt
1848. Jacob Saphir: Southern countries (first mission)
1850. Isaac Farhi: Italy^[2]^: 220
1850. Levi Nehemias: Italy^[2]^: 220
1850. Joseph Schwarz: the United States (author of Ṭevu’at ha-Arets)
1854. Jacob Saphir: Yemen, British India, Egypt, and Australia (Second mission)
1856. Moses Hazzan: the Levant (author of Naḥalah le-Yisra’el)
1865. Raphael Meir Panigel: Europe (haham başı and author of Lev Marpe’)
1870. Moses Pardo: North Africa
1885. Moses Riwlin: Australia
1885. Nathan Natkin: the United States (d. 1888, in New York)
1890. Abraham ibn Ephraim: Persia (Sephardic)
1894. Yosef Haim HaCohen: Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Caucasus Mountains
1899. Yosef Haim HaCohen: Bukhara.
1903 (then serving):
- Shalom Hamadi: Yemen (Sephardic)
- Benjamin ha-Kohen: Caucasus, Russia (Sephardic)
- J. Meynhas: India (Sephardic)
- Eliezer Zalman Grajewski: the United States
- Joshua Loeb Suessenwein: the United States (author of Tsir Ne’eman, Jerusalem, 1898)
- Solomon Joseph Eliach
- Yosef Haim HaCohen: Algiers, Constantine, Algeria
1934. Amram Aburbeh: Morocco.

Notes

^ SHelucha DeRabonan, an emissary of the rabbis; according to others, the acronym is SHelucha DeRachamana, an emissary from God.

References

^ "Shaliaḥ". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Nepi, Graziadio; Ghirondi, Mordecai (1853). Toledot Gedoley Yisra'el. Trieste: Tipografia Marenigh.
^ a b c d e f g h i j Michael, Heimann Joseph (1891). Or ha-Ḥayyim. Frankfurt.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Azulai, Ḥayyim Joseph David (1774). Shem ha-Gedolim. Vol. i. Livorno. p. 34.
^ Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society. p. 18.
^ Qiryah Ne'emanah. p. 114.

Bibliography

Avraham Yaari - Emissaries of the Land of Israel - The History of Missions from the Land to the Diaspora, from the destruction of the Second Temple to the Nineteenth Century, Hebrew, Jerusalem (1871. Reprinted in 1977; and in 1977, in two volumes).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meshulach.

Sheluhei Eretz-Israel collection of documents, at the National Library of Israel.
Sheluhe de-rabanan, wide variety of pictures, books and other digital items related to Sheluhe de-rabanan from the National Library of Israel collections.