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Сила Теилим

2 Nisan · Yahrzeit

Rabbi Yeshayahu Mordechai Bassan - Teacher of the Ramchal

Rabbi Yeshayahu Mordechai ben Yisrael Chizkiya Bassan (also known as Bassani and Bassano) (1673 - 1739) was an 18th-century Italian rabbi, rabbi of Padua and Reggio Emilia, and the teacher of the Ramchal. Yahrzeit - 2 Nisan Resting place - Reggio Emilia, Italy He studied in Mantua under the great Rav Moshe Zacuto - the Ramaz, and after his passing in early 1697 continued his studies under Rabbi Yehuda Briel, a member of the Beit Din in Mantua and head of the yeshiva. After receiving semicha from the sages of Mantua, he returned to Verona. In 1701 he married Yocheved, daughter of Rabbi Binyamin Cohen Vitali, rabbi of Reggio Emilia, who was the son-in-law of his own great-grandfather, a rabbi. His father-in-law also ordained him as a rabbi, and Rabbi Yeshayahu Bassan settled in Reggio Emilia. He lived in Padua from 1715 to 1723 and served as rabbi in the local yeshiva, where the Ramchal was a student. During the controversy in Italy against the Ramchal, Rabbi Yeshayahu Bassan was his chief defender; he corresponded with rabbis abroad who were involved in the affair, and was even accused of hiding his student. According to Meir Benayahu, Rabbi Yeshayahu Bassan collected and preserved the correspondence relating to the controversy, which is still used for research on the controversy to this day. In 1723 he returned to Reggio Emilia to help his father-in-law manage the rabbinical affairs of the city. After his father-in-law's passing on the 16th of Tevet, he was appointed in his place as rabbi of the city until his own death. During the last two years of his life he fell ill, and after spending a year in Verona for treatment, he returned to his city and passed away there on the 2nd of Nisan, 1739. His son, Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin Bassan (1701–1790), was one of the most distinguished Jewish-Italian poets of his time, and after his father's passing he was appointed rabbi of Reggio Emilia. His brother-in-law was Rabbi Menashe Yehoshua Padua, rabbi of Modena and son of Rabbi Yehuda Matzlai'ach Padua. May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael! (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/1076-Rabbi-Yeshayahu-Mordechai-Bassan)