Creator Bio
Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi
1820–1903
Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi was a publisher, journalist, and singer in Salonika. Although his formal education was limited to a few weeks of traditional schooling, he was a passionate maskil who was instrumental in establishing the first Alliance Israélite Universelle school in Salonika (1873). In addition to publishing religious and secular texts, including his own poems and songs composed for holidays and special occasions, he founded two long-lasting periodicals. In 1875, he started a Ladino newspaper, La epoka, and in 1895, the French-language Le journal de Salonique. In 1874, a-Levi was excommunicated by local rabbis on false charges. In his memoir he presents himself as a victim of the ignorant masses and a heroic fighter for progress.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
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Memoir
These high officials were not accustomed to wearing European-style shirts. When they decided to dress in the European style, they asked a certain ham, Daniel Andjel, whose shop at the Women’s Market…
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How Does a Newspaper Survive?
In order to survive, a newspaper needs numerous subscribers, the help of the community, paid publications, the aid of the friends of education, the generosity of the nation, and the support of the…
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A Salonikan Jewish Man Recalls the Day of His Wedding
When my engagement was decided, my sister and brother-in-law announced, “You are engaged” without my even meeting the father of the bride.
As the date of my wedding approached, I still didn’t have the…
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Turkish Music in the Synagogue: Objections of a Rabbi
The sinyor Rav h"r Shaul had a strong aversion to the Turkish language to the extent that he would excommunicate anyone singing Turkish songs. Not only Turkish songs, but even a Jewish liturgical…