Hacham David Ovadia


Hacham David Ovadia

Date of Birth: 8th of Iyar, 5673 (1913)
Date of Death: 18th of Iyar, 5770 (2010)
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A Short Tribute

Hacham David Ovadia, son of Hacham Yeshua Shimon Haim Ovadia, author of Yismach Lev, was born in 1913 in Sefrou, Morocco. Hacham David Ovadia is the founder the Dovev Siftei Yesheinim Association, established in 1967 to have the writings of the ancient Sages of Morocco published.

Hacham David Ovadia officiated as dayan and, in 1942, was appointed as the city's rabbi, following in his father's footsteps. He was the last of the dynasty of Sefrou rabbis in Morocco. In 1952 he moved to Rabat, where he officiated until his appointment in Fes in 1961, subsequently moving from Fes to Marrakesh.

Hacham David Ovadia filled a series of public positions. He was the educational supervisor of the Em HaBanim school network; in 1947 he was appointed to the Rabbinic Council of Morocco, and in 1959 was appointed to the National Legislative Assembly of Morocco.

In 1963, Hacham David Ovadia immigrated to Israel, where he served as a member of the Jerusalem Rabbinical Office and Chairman of the Maghreb Community Rabbinic Council in Jerusalem. In 1982 he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize for the Cultivation of Jewish Communities for his books The Community of Sefrou (in three parts) and Fes and its Sages. Hacham David Ovadia is also the author of Natan David book of Responsa on Jewish customs in Morocco.

Hacham David Ovadia passed away on 18 Iyar 5770 (2010) and was buried in Jerusalem.

 

A few quotes from the Rabbi on Tzedakah and Hesed
in which he tells of the Elijah Association, established to ensure participation in funeral processions

The Elijah Association, or Funeral Procession Association, was founded in approximately 1910. A few individuals in the community, realizing that the townspeople did not attend funerals unless they were for prominent individuals, such as rabbis or wealthy people, decided to establish an organization whose members would consider it their personal duty to stop their work and commerce in order to "escort the deceased" and attend funeral processions. The members of this organization carry the coffin on their shoulders from the house entrance down the path to the cemetery. While they walk, they recite psalms, Tmania Api in particular (Psalm 199, the longest of the Psalms). If the deceased's family are impoverished and lack the funds for shrouds, the organization members assist them in purchasing them.

Hacham David Ovadia, Natan David Responsa, The Nation's' Customs, p.396, Yismach Lev¬ - Torat Moshe Publishing, Jerusalem 1996 From 'The Daily Sage'
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