Azoulay, sometimes spelled Azoulai, Azulai or Azulay (Hebrew: אזולאי),[1] etc. is a Sephardi Jewish surname, common among Jews of Moroccan descent. It is assumed that the family name Azulai is an acronym of the biblical restriction on whom a Kohen may marry: אשה זנה וחללה לא יקחו‎ (Leviticus, 21:7) and, thus, indicating priestly descent. The Hebrew phrase ishah zonah ve'challelah lo yikachu means "a foreign [non-Israelite woman] or divorced [Israelite woman] shall not he [the Kohen] take".

People edit

Azoulay family of Fes edit

Azoulay, is the name of a notable Jewish family descended from Spanish exiles who, after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492[citation needed] and following decades, settled in the city of Fez, Morocco. The family includes:

  • Abraham Azulai (c. 1570 – 1643) – Kabbalistic author and commentator best known for his Chessed le-Avraham
  • Chaim Yosef David Azulai (1724–1807) – a rabbinical scholar and a noted bibliophile, who pioneered the history of Jewish religious writings.[2]
  • Raphael Isaiah Azulai (died 1830) – rabbi and writer.

Others edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ minus the Aleph before the Yud, which is how Chaim Yosef David Azulai spelled it
  2. ^ Mindel, Nissan (1 July 2004). "Rabbi Chaim Joseph David Azulai — The Chida (circa 5484-5567; 1724-1807)". Chabad.org. Retrieved 26 September 2023.