David ben Solomon ibn Zimra (Radbaz) was a Spanish born Rabbi whose adult life was spent in Fes, Israel and Cairo. He was appointed Hakham Bashi or Chief Rabbi of Egypt, a title he held for forty years. Cairene Jewry at the time encompassed an indigenous Jewish community and several communities of Jews from other localities, each with its own traditions. He used his authority to unify many of the disparate practices. Late he moved to Jerusalem where he was appointed judge of the community before finally settling in Safed where he died aged 93 or 94. He was independently wealthy and strongly objected to rabbis taking even a minimal salary. He therefore tried to use his position to affect a more equitable distribution of the tax burden whilst he was judge in Jerusalem. A prolific writer he wrote close to 3,000 responsa which a known both for their brevity and careful consideration of the impact on the lives of the people it affected. His two most noted students were Bezalel Ashkenazi and Isaac Luria. He also composed liturgical poetry of which his Keter Malkhut (The Royal Crown) has been incorporated into the Heidenheim edition of the prayer book for Yom Kippur.
Works on Sefaria
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