Elijah Capsali

Elijah Capsali was born on the island of Crete to a scholarly family. His father Elkanah was a community leader and condestabulo, the official head of the Jewish community organization, and he served as liaison with the Venetian rulers of Crete; his great-uncle Moses Capsali was chief rabbi of Istanbul from the 1470s through 1510. As a youth, Elijah traveled to Venice and then Padua to study with Judah Minz. Minz died shortly after his arrival, and Capsali soon returned home. He received his ordination in Candia and began his long service to the Jewish community of Crete, which included compiling its regulations. He is best known for his Seder Eliyahu zuta (The Minor Order of Elijah), a history of the Ottoman Empire, Spain, and Portugal and of the Jews who lived in those countries. He also composed an ethical work entitled Me’ah she‘arim (A Hundred Gates): one hundred chapters on the commandment to honor one’s parents.