Joseph Molcho


Joseph Molcho, a restatement of the Arba'ah Turim and the Shulḥan Arukh to reflect the dominant customs in Thessaloniki at the time. He moved to Jerusalem in 1750 and died there.

Biography

Joseph Molcho was born in 1692 to Rabbi Abraham Molcho, a descendant of Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition. He became the student of the chief rabbi of Thessaloniki, Joseph David. At eighteen he married and had at least three sons. He was considered an expert in shechita and became the head shokhet of Thessaloniki. In 1750 he left his children with his brother and moved to Jerusalem with his father.

Books

Shulchan Gavoah, a restatement of the Arba'ah Turim and Shulchan AruchOhel Yosef on the laws of shechita, first published in Thessaloniki in 1741