Mishpatim Yesharim
1747 CE–1821 CE · Acharonim · Meknes
R. Refael Berdugo (1747-1821) was the foundational halachic authority (posek) of Morocco in the late 18th / early 19th century and the patriarch of the Berdugo rabbinic dynasty of Meknes. His Mishpatim Yesharim responsa and his Mei Menuchot Torah commentary set the standards of Meknesi legal ruling that prevailed throughout Morocco for generations.
After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, Morocco held two Jewish communities side by side: the Iberian exiles (megorashim) and the older native North African Jews (Toshavim), each with its own customs. Berdugo's great achievement was fusing the two into a single Moroccan custom (minhag) that endured through the mass immigration to Israel (aliyah) of the 20th century. He was known as 'HaMashbir' for his economic leadership of the Meknes community during a severe famine.
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MeknesמקנסMorocco — historic halachic center
What they did here
Born in Meknes to the Berdugo family. Served as the principal halachic authority of Meknes for over five decades. Authored Mishpatim Yesharim and Mei Menuchot here; died in Meknes 1821.
Meknes in this era
Meknes under the Alaouite Sultan Moulay Ismail (r. 1672-1727) served as the Moroccan imperial capital; the Mellah grew alongside Ismail's vast palace complex. R. Refael Berdugo (1747-1821) emerged as the foundational late-acharonic posek of Moroccan halacha here; his Mishpatim Yesharim responsa shaped Moroccan rulings for generations. The Berdugo dynasty — R. Yaakov Berdugo, R. Mordechai Berdugo, R. Yehoshua Berdugo — anchored the Meknes rabbinate across the 18th and 19th centuries. The Mashash family also rose to prominence here.
About Meknes
Meknes was the seat of the Alaouite court under Moulay Ismail (1672-1727). Its Jewish community produced the Berdugo dynasty — R. Refael Berdugo (Mishpatim Yesharim, 1747-1821) was its most influential posek.
In Meknes at the same time
In the same place & time
Sages whose lives overlapped with Mishpatim Yesharim’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
In the same tradition
The world in their lifetime
Thinkers, teachers, and rulers whose lives overlapped with Mishpatim Yesharim’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.
Jewish world
- Israel Hopstein of Kozhnitz· 1737 CE–1814 CE
- Chaim Tyrer of Czernowitz· 1740 CE–1817 CE
- Rabbi Yehuda HaKohen Heller· 1743 CE–1819 CE
- Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik Greishaber· 1745 CE–1823 CE
- Rabbi Wolf Boskowitz· 1745 CE–1818 CE
- Jacob Isaac Horowitz· 1745 CE–1815 CE
- Shneur Zalman of Liadi· 1745 CE–1812 CE
- Aryeh Leib HaKohen Heller· 1745 CE–1812 CE
- R. Dovid Biderman of Lelov· 1746 CE–1814 CE
- Abraham Danzig· 1748 CE–1820 CE
- Avraham Yehoshua Heschel· 1748 CE–1825 CE
- Chaim of Volozhin· 1749 CE–1821 CE
- Rabbi Moshe Mintz· 1750 CE–1831 CE
- Rabbi Shmuel Landau· 1750 CE–1834 CE
- Kalonymus Kalman Epstein· 1751 CE–1823 CE
- R. Yosef Maman al-Maghribi· 1752 CE–1823 CE
- Rabbi Meshullam Igra· 1752 CE–1801 CE
- Rabbi Hertz Scheyer· 1753 CE–1822 CE
- Rabbi Mordechai Benet· 1753 CE–1829 CE
- Rabbi Elazar Fleckeles· 1754 CE–1826 CE
- David Solomon Eibeschutz· 1755 CE–1813 CE
- Rabbi Shalom Ullmann· 1755 CE–1825 CE
- Rabbi Betzalel Ronsburg· 1760 CE–1820 CE
- Nachman of Breslov· 1772 CE–1810 CE
Christian world
Islamic world
Scientists
Luminaries & Explorers world
Buddhist world
Rulers world
- Thomas Jefferson· 1743 CE–1826 CE
- Selim III· 1761 CE–1808 CE
- William Pitt the Younger· 1759 CE–1806 CE
- Bodawpaya· 1745 CE–1819 CE
- Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla· 1753 CE–1811 CE
- John Adams· 1735 CE–1826 CE
- Little Turtle (Mihšihkinaahkwa)· 1747 CE–1812 CE
- George III· 1738 CE–1820 CE
- Louis XVIII· 1755 CE–1824 CE
- Red Jacket (Sagoyewatha)· 1750 CE–1830 CE
- Jiaqing Emperor· 1760 CE–1820 CE
- Paul I· 1754 CE–1801 CE
- Tecumseh· 1768 CE–1813 CE
- Gia Long (Nguyễn Ánh)· 1762 CE–1820 CE
Works
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