Solomon Ayllon

Solomon Ayllon was raised in Salonika. In his youth he became a follower of Shabbetai Tzvi and was in contact with Nathan of Gaza. However, there is no proof that he converted to Islam, as some have suggested; instead, he was a moderate Sabbatean and remained faithful to rabbinic tradition. In 1680, Ayllon settled in Safed, later setting out for Europe as an emissary for the town’s Jews. He was appointed ḥakham of the London Jewish congregation in 1689. However, his relations with the community became untenable, and he subsequently left for Amsterdam, where in 1700 he was appointed ḥakham of the Portuguese congregation. In 1713, he became embroiled in a conflict with the chief rabbi of the Ashkenazi congregation, Zvi Ashkenazi, regarding the writings of the Sabbatean Nehemiah Ḥiya Ḥayun. Many of Ayllon’s responsa have been preserved in manuscripts, and some have been printed in collections. His kabbalistic writings (also preserved in manuscript form) reveal his Sabbatean leanings, although it remains unclear whether he later renounced this belief or merely concealed it.