The Alshich HaKadosh
1508 CE–1593 CE · AH · Tzfat
R. Moshe Alshich (1508-1593) — the Alshich HaKadosh — was one of the foundational figures of the Tzfat kabbalistic-halachic circle in its golden generation. Born in Adrianople (Edirne) into a Sephardic exilic family, he studied under R. Yosef Taitatzak in Salonika before settling in Tzfat in his thirties, where he became a colleague of R. Yosef Karo (who ordained him), R. Moshe Cordovero, and R. Yitzchak Luria (the Arizal, who is recorded as having received Torah from him on Mondays and Wednesdays).
His Torat Moshe — a homiletic commentary on the entire Tanach — is one of the most widely-studied Sephardic homiletic works of all time, valued for its accessible Sephardic-derush style that interweaves halacha, Aggadah, and Kabbalah without becoming impenetrable. Karo considered him one of the great preachers of the generation.
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Edirne (Adrianople)אדריאנופולOttoman Thrace — Ottoman capital before Istanbul
What they did here
Born in Adrianople, Turkey, to Rabbi Chaim Alshich, who had fled the Expulsion from Spain in 1492.
About Edirne (Adrianople)
Edirne (Adrianople) was the Ottoman capital before Mehmed II's conquest of Constantinople in 1453, and remained one of the empire's largest Sephardic centers after 1492. R. Yosef Karo wrote the bulk of the Beit Yosef here between 1522 and 1554 before relocating to Tzfat. The city's Beit Midrash housed Karo, R. Yosef Taitazak, and R. Yitzchak Caro.
Works
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