9 Cheshvan · Yahrzeit
Yahrzeit/Hillula of Rabbi David Tzion Laniado
Rabbi David Tzion Laniado of Aram Tzova - author of "LaKedoshim Asher Ba'aretz".
The Laniado family originates from Spain. After the decree expelling the Jews from Spain and its territories in 1492, Rabbi Shmuel Laniado settled in Aleppo, Syria. Around 1565, his grandson, Rabbi Shmuel Laniado, was appointed Chief Rabbi of Aleppo on the recommendation of his teacher, Maran Yosef Karo (author of the Shulchan Aruch). The Laniado family gave Aleppo six chief rabbis.
Rabbi David Laniado is known as the biographer of the rabbis of Aleppo. He was born in Aleppo in 1899, and in 1919 he emigrated alone to Jerusalem. There he became close to the Saba Kadisha, Rabbi Shlomo Eliezer Alfandari, who showed him special affection.
In 1929, already married and the father of two children, he moved to Hebron in order to be able to pray daily at Me'arat HaMachpela (the Cave of the Patriarchs).
His family miraculously managed to survive the Hebron massacre, and they returned to Jerusalem. During visits to his parents in Aleppo, Rabbi Laniado began to record the gravestones of rabbis in the old Jewish cemetery of Aleppo.
Rabbi David Tzion Laniado spent countless hours at the old Aleppo cemetery, recording the inscriptions on every gravestone of the hundreds of rabbis buried there. He gathered biographical information about the most well-known pious people who lived in Aram Tzova.
He also researched community records and many old manuscripts of sacred books kept in synagogues and private collections. He compiled all this material into a book which he called "LaKedoshim Asher Ba'aretz," taking the words from a verse in Tehillim (Psalms 16:3), "For the holy ones who are on the earth." The word "aretz" (land) is a commonly accepted abbreviation for Aram Tzova.
The entries are arranged alphabetically, and each name is assigned a reference number.The book was translated and served as the basis (in the same format) for the book "Aleppo: City of Scholars" by Rabbi David Sutton, published in 2005.
This book is a primary source of historical information about hundreds of Aleppo rabbis. Rabbi Laniado is also the author of other works, including "Melitz Tov," an extensive collection of prayers.
Although he was not a wealthy man (aside from his large, beautiful library of Torah books), Rabbi Laniado was known for his generosity and compassion, and people constantly turned to him for help, advice, and support, and he graciously helped everyone.
Rabbi Laniado made several trips to the United States and spent some time in the Syrian community in Brooklyn. In his later years he served as the rabbi of the Kfar Shalem district of Tel Aviv (while continuing to live in Jerusalem). He passed away in Jerusalem in 1969.
May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(Based on the site https://sephardicheritagemuseum.com/archive-tag/laniado/page/2/)