A Short Tribute

Hacham Abraham Bechor Evlagon was born to Carla Arditti and Hacham David Evlagon in Kushta (now Istanbul), in 1846. He was ordained to the rabbinate in 1869 and served also as a scribe and shochet, and was a gifted illustrator. In 1876 he moved to serve in Crete and took on the responsibility for its community. As its spiritual leader, he was the community's representative which, at times, placed him at personal risk. During the First World War and following the Greco-Turkish war he undertook the religious education of children of refugees and founded a school for them. He had full mastery of several languages and an extensive and rich education. He owned a large library and received many of the numerous Jewish newspapers common in his day.

Rabbi Abraham Bechor Evlagon lived in Chania, the capitol of Crete. He married Bathsheba Careo and they had four sons and a daughter: Jacob, Nissim David, Shalom, Judah and Victoria.

His only published work Nichnas Yayin, deals with study content fitting for a person of seventy years of age and has a photograph of him; it was published in 1912. He wrote an essay entitled Yayin HaRekakh, on the history of blood libels over several centuries, up to the Beilis libel.

Hacham Abraham Bechor Ivlagon passed away at a ripe age on 2 Cheshvan 5693 (1933).