Azariah Piccio

In his youth, Azariah Piccio (Figo), a native of Venice, studied mostly secular subjects. He later devoted himself to religious studies, becoming a well-respected rabbi and a famed preacher. At the age of twenty-eight, Piccio was appointed rabbi of Pisa. He remained there until 1627, when he returned to Venice to assume the role of preacher in the Sephardic community. He opposed the opening of a theater in the Venice ghetto and often criticized the behavior of the city’s Jews. In 1647, while in Rovigo, he contracted a sudden illness and died. A popular sermon collection, Binah le-‘itim (Understanding of the Times), includes homilies written for festivals and fasts as well as some on Pirke Avot, charity, and education. Piccio also wrote a commentary on Sefer ha-terumot (Book of the Heave Offerings) by Samuel Sardi called Gidule terumah (Offshoots of the Heave Offering; 1643). Other works, including responsa and a text concerning the methods of the Talmud, were never published.