Jacob Berab

Jacob Berab was born in Spain. After the 1492 expulsion, he went to Morocco, serving briefly as a rabbi in Fez. He spent the rest of his life in Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, Gaza, and, most significantly, Safed. There he was a teacher of, among others, Joseph Karo and Moses of Trani. Berab is known for his attempt to renew the ancient chain of semikhah (rabbinic ordination), following a process outlined by Moses Maimonides in the twelfth century. He was adamantly opposed and eventually defeated by Levi Ibn Ḥabib and scholars in Jerusalem.