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Responsa addressed to the Hida by R. Elijah b. Raphael Solomon Segal haLevi (1713-1792), rabbi of Alessandria, author, kabbalist, and liturgical poet. R. Elijah was accepted to this position at the age of 25 and served for over 50 years. R. Elijah was both a pupil and a colleague of R. Isaac Lampronti together with whom he studied under R. Judah Briel in Mantua. He was at first rabbi of Finale and later in Alessandria. He composed a number of marriage poems and other occasional poems as well as a large work, Seder de-Eliyahu (Mantua, 1786). The names of all his books are connected with the name Elijah, such as Sava Eliyahu and Eliyahu be-Arba. His responsa are to be found in the Shemesh Zedakah of R. Samson Morpurgo, in the Pahad Yizḥak of R. Isaac Lampronti, and in the Givat Pinḥas (unpublished) of Phinehas Anau. A number of talmudic and kabbalistic works, responsa, and homilies by R. Elijah remained unpublished. R. Isaac Raphael Finzi composed an elegy on his death.
Alessandria, town in northern Italy. The first known Jewish settler in Alessandria was Abraham, son of Joseph Vitale de Sacerdoti (Cohen), who opened a loan bank in or about 1490. The subsequent history of the community, to modern times, continued to center around, and to a great degree consisted of, the record of his descendants, later known by the name Vitale. In 1550, it was proposed to expel the Jews from the Duchy of Milan, which since 1535 had been under Spanish rule. Simone (Samuel) Vitale thereupon went to Madrid and secured authorization for two families to reside in the city. When the Jews were finally expelled from the Duchy of Milan in 1590, he again traveled to Spain and received permission to remain in Alessandria in consideration of the large sum owed him by the government. Thereafter, the community was concentrated around the Vitale family, whose approval had to be obtained by all newcomers before they could settle there. Of the 230 Jews living in Alessandria in 1684, 170 were members of the Vitale family; in 1761, out of 60 households, 36 bore this name. The wealthier members of the community were engaged in the manufacture of textiles and silks; their mills gave employment to many Christians. General conditions remained unchanged when Alessandria passed to the House of Savoy in 1708. The administration of the community remained distinct from that of Piedmont Jewry. The ghetto was established in 1724. In 1761, the Jewish population amounted to 420 persons, the Vitale family having lost the right to approve the newcomers. From the 18th century, the rabbinate became an almost hereditary office held by the family of Levi (de) Veali. The Jews of Alessandria, with the rest of Italian Jewry, enjoyed temporary civic emancipation during the period of French influence in Italy in 17961814. Subsequently, there was a sharp reaction. In 1837, Alessandria Jewry was again restricted to the ghetto, although its gates were not renewed. At a wedding celebration in 1835, an overcrowded house in the area collapsed, killing 42 persons, including 17 Christian guests and R. Matassia b. Moses Zacut Levi de Veali. Although from 1848 the Jews of Alessandria enjoyed complete emancipation, many of them were attracted to the larger cities. Between 1900 and 1938, the total of Jewish residents decreased from 868 to 101 according to Mussolini's census. |
