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Only edition of this work of prayers, supplications, and on the customs of the Jews of Algiers by R. Abraham ben Elijah Leloush. The title page states that the letters of the title, Romemot El, א"ל refer to the initials of the author, A. L. It describes the book as bekashot according to the custom of שנוג'א לכבירא בארגיל correctly ordered and arranged by R. Leloush. Within the text are bekashot and piyyutim to be recited on Shabbat and festivals. Romemot El is actually part of a larger work entitled Sefer Zeh ha-Shulḥan: Minhage ḳehilat Kodesh Algir published in 1888-89, although it R. Leloush may not have been author of the first part.
From early in the 16th century, the Turks ruled in Algiers. In order to develop trade, they encouraged the creation of a privileged class. They employed Jews as advisers and physicians; Jews were also responsible for the coining of money and the accounts of the treasury. The mass of the people, Moors and Jews, suffered periodically from the whims of the Janissaries and the cruelty of the militia. In 1706 an outbreak of the plague and a terrible famine reduced many Jewish families to indigence. Then, influenced by false accusations, the bey imposed an exorbitant fine on the community and ordered the destruction of the synagogues, which were saved only by the payment of a further sum. This ruined the majority of the Jews. They commemorated the failure of the Spanish who attacked Algiers in 1541 and 1775 by instituting two "Purims" of Algiers, which were celebrated every year by the whole community. From the 17th century onward, former Portuguese Marranos and many Dutch, Moroccan, and Leghorn Jewish families went to settle there. Proficient in business, many owning their own ships, they gained control of Algerian commerce and extended the system of letters of exchange, and that of concessions and agencies in Europe and the East. These new immigrants intermarried with the older families of the town and settled on the Street of the Livornese, completely separated from the Ḥara ("quarter"). These "Juifs Francs" ("Francos," i.e., free from the obligations of other Jews), or "Christian Jews" (because they wore European garments), were employed by all European countries to ransom Christian prisoners. Many were able diplomats who negotiated or signed various peace and trade treaties. Among these diplomats in the second half of the 17th century were Jacob de Paz, Isaac Sasportas, David Torres, Judah Cohen (d. early 18th century), and Soliman Jaquete (d. 1724). Their families became the aristocracy of the community and were active in promoting its welfare. Internal strife in the Jewish community appeared only when the kabbalists R. Joshua Sidun, R. Joseph Abulker, R. Aaron Moatti, and above all R. Abraham Tubiana (d. 1792) introduced new rituals in their synagogues in accordance with the theories of R. Isaac Luria . Members of other synagogues considered this sacrilegious and accused the innovators of promoting a schism. Until the mid-20th century two different rituals were followed in the synagogues of Algiers, that of the mekubbalim, or kabbalists, and that of the pashtanim, or those who followed the original customs of the refugees from Barcelona and Majorca. The intense religious life of the community was stimulated later in the 16th century by eminent scholars such as R. Abraham Tawa, R. Moses Meshash, R. Abraham Gavison , physician to the famous "beylerbey" (Ottoman governor) Euldj Ali (1568–87), R. Solomon Duran II and his disciple R. Judah Khallas II (d. 1620), R. Solomon Seror (d. 1664) and his grandson Raphael-Jedidiah Seror (d. 1737), the philosopher R. Mas'ud Guenoun (d. 1694), the poet R. Nehorai Azubib (d. 1785), and R. Judah Ayash , one of the most venerated rabbis of Algiers. Their works, however, were neglected by the new generations, which turned toward other forms of culture. In the late 18th–early 19th centuries the wealth of certain families added to the enormous influence of Naphtali Busnach ; this aroused the jealousy of the Janissaries, who assassinated Busnach. The day after Busnach's assassination (June 29, 1805), they sacked Algiers killing between 200 and 500 Jews. Despite this catastrophe, the great families would not forgo their internal disputes nor their fierce competition for power. David Bacri succeeded his partner and relative Naphtali Busnach as head of the community. He was beheaded in 1811 by the dey and replaced by David Duran who represented the opposing families. The latter was in his turn put to death by the dey during the same year, and Joseph Bacri assumed the title of muqaddam (head of the community). Involved against his will in disputes between the Jewish families, the rabbi of Algiers, R. Isaac Abulker, was dragged to the stake with seven other notables of the town (1815). After the landing of the French in 1830, Jacob Bacri was named "Chef de la Nation Israelite"; he was replaced by Aaron Moatti whose appointment was terminated in 1834. In 1870 Algerian Jews became French citizens; subsequently antisemitism spread throughout the country manifesting itself in serious pogroms, particularly in Algiers (1884–87, 1897–98). After World War I a Zionist conference, the first in Algeria, was organized at Algiers. Although the Jewish elite was always active in the defense of Judaism, they were loyal French citizens. The Algiers community was deeply affected by the nationalist struggle for independence. Much of the communal structure ceased to exist. The Great Synagogue in the ancient quarter, ravaged in the Christmas Eve riots of 1960 was only temporarily restored. The Maimonides rabbinical college was closed. During the French army's search of Bab-el-Oued in 1962, in reprisal for the machine-gunning of French soldiers by the local OAS, the synagogue of that quarter was ravaged.
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