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R. Abraham b. Mordecai Ankawa (b. 1810), rabbi and kabbalist, was born in Sale, Morocco. His family, probably of Spanish origin, had settled in Tlemcen (Algeria) and in Sale, where his father, R. Mordecai, was president of the community for a time. After serving as dayyan in his native town, R. Ankawa traveled to Leghorn about 1838 to arrange the printing of his first works. On his return he journeyed to many towns in Morocco and the Oran district, seeking material for his halakhic works. He was particularly interested in the unpublished researches and rulings of old Castilian and North African rabbis, making extensive use of these and the works of authoritative European writers. His visits were usually short, but he stayed three years in Tlemcen and founded a talmudic academy there. He made a second trip to Leghorn in 1858.
The following works by Ankawa have been published: Zekhor le-Avraham (Leghorn, 1838), the rules of terefot in verse form, with a commentary based mainly on manuscripts by authoritative Fez writers, and an appendix containing four liturgical poems for the New Year by Spanish poets; Hukkat ha-Pesah (1843), an Arabic paraphrase of memorial verses for seder nights; Kol Tehinnah (1843), prayers for fasts and a few elegies; Hesed le-Avraham or Sha'ar ha-Shamayim (1845), a prayer book for the whole year arranged in accordance with the teachings of R. Isaac Luria, containing the "Idra Zuta," various mystical prayers, formulas, directions, and explanations: this prayer book was later published in several revised editions and under various titles (Kol Bo, Limmudei ha-Shem, etc.); Homer ha-Dat he-Attik (1844), a summary of Shefa Tal by R. Shabbetai Sheftel Horowitz, printed as an appendix to Hayyim Vital's Ozerot Hayyim; Zevahim Shelamim, a double commentary to Maimonides' rules of ritual slaughter, together with the Maggid Mishneh, source references by R. Judah Alkalaz: included in this volume were Get Mekushar and Seder Halizah, on the arrangements for the bill of divorce and for halizah by R. Judah ibn Attar and R. Jacob ibn Zur; Yuzza la-Rabbim (1858) concerning a dispute between R. Ankawa and some Algiers rabbis; Kerem Hemed (1869–71), responsa in two volumes arranged according to the four parts of Shulhan Arukh: the second volume also contains Sefer ha-Takkanot, the statutes of the Castilian communities in Fez (since 1492) and Et Sofer, on legal documents. The Sefer ha-Takkanot is based on a copy which was completed by R. Jacob ibn Zur in 1698, and also contains Kizzut Takkanot, after the version of R. Raphael Berdugo (no. 196). Unpublished works of R. Ankawa include: Ozar Hokhmah, an abstract of Hayyim Vital's Ozerot Hayyim; Afra de-Avraham and Millel le-Avraham, homilies; Seivat Avraham, novellae to a few talmudic tractates; and a Hebrew translation of the Arabic paraphrase of the Decalogue, formerly ascribed to R. Saadiah Gaon.
R. Reuven Elmaleh was a dayyan in Tetouan.
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