Moshe David Gaon

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Moshe David Gaon
משה דוד גאון
Born6 September 1889
Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary
DiedOctober 8, 1958(1958-10-08) (aged 69)
Jerusalem, Israel
Burial placeHar HaMenuchot
EducationDavid Yellin College of Education
Years active1908-1958
Children2, including Yehoram

Moshe David Gaon (

Ladino culture in Israel, and the father of businessmen Benny Gaon [he] and Yehoram Gaon
.

Early life and career

Gaon was born in

Talmudic and public schools.[2]

When he turned 18, Gaon went to

Ottoman army in Beer Sheva, and later studied at the Ezra Teachers' Seminary. At the outbreak of the War of the Languages, he joined the strikers, and completed his studies at the Seminar Beit Hakerem under the guide of David Yellin.[3]

In 1921, he visited the newly-formed Yugoslavia, and returned to Jerusalem with his parents. He became the director of the Talmud Torah in İzmir, and published a Hebrew-language magazine, Hevranu, to help his students learn.[4]

In subsequent years, upon his return to Israel, Gaon held various positions in the offices of Zionist movements' managements in Jerusalem. He was one of the members of the Hapoel Hatzair party until its merger with the Ahadot Ha'Avoda in 1930.

For several years, he served as a reporter for a number of international

Ladino newspapers, including: Il Avinir and La Ipoca in Thessaloniki, Hashofer in Plovdiv, and Il Judio in Constantinople
. Later in his career, he wrote articles for Harut.

Gaon was the first teacher of the children of Motza. The classroom was located in the Old Motza Synagogue, he would spend time in Motza during the week for teaching, and would return on Shabbos to Jerusalem. He taught for 4 years.

In 1928, he travelled to Buenos Aires, where he helped edit the "Hebrew Stage" and served as a teacher at the Moroccan Jewish community school in the city. He returned the following year to Israel, and was invited to serve as the general secretary of the Sephardi Community Council in Jerusalem, which he held until his death in 1958.

Gaon was one of the activists of the Histadrut HaSephardim (later Sephardim and Oriental Communities) and then in the World Sephardi Federation as a member of the board.[5]

He was known as a

magnum opus is "The Jews of the East in the Land of Israel: Past and Present", in two volumes, which was published in 1928. He also wrote various poems in Ladino and collected many Ladino newspapers, writing a bibliography on the Ladino press. From his inclination to study the newspapers of the orient, he published many bibliographic articles on the subject in collections on the history of the Palestine press, edited by David Yudelwitz and Zalman Pevsner.[7]

Personal life

Gaon married Sarah ben Binyamin Hakim, a native of İzmir. They had 4 children, two daughters: Kalila and Yigal, and two sons, businessmen Benny Gaon and Yehoram Gaon. He died on 8 October 1958 and is buried at Har HaMenuchot.[8]

Commemoration

Works

  • Gaon, Moses David (1928). יהודי המזרח בארץ ישראל - חלק א [Oriental Jews in the Land of Israel: Past and Present] (in Hebrew). Vol. I–II. Jerusalem: Azriel Press [he].

References

  1. ^ Robins, Walker (2010-10-01), "Gaon, Moses David", Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Brill, retrieved 2023-07-06
  2. ^ "Gaon, Moses David". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  3. ^ Tidhar, D. (1948). Entsiklopedyah le-halutse ha-yishuv u-vonav (in Hebrew). Vol. 1. p. 500.
  4. ^ "סיפורו של המורה משה דוד גאון בבית הספר" [The Story of Teacher Moshe David Gaon at School]. malon.co.il (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 6 Jul 2023.
  5. ^ "Moshe David Gaon". Davar (in Hebrew). 9 Oct 1958. Retrieved 6 Jul 2023.
  6. ^ "משה דוד גאון" [The Genius: Moshe David Gaon]. assis.kidush.com (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 6 Jul 2023.
  7. ^ "מכון מעלה אדומים לתיעוד השפה הספניולית ותרבותה". folkmasa.org (in Hebrew). 2005. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  8. ^ "משה דוד גאון". gravez.me. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
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