BEJERANO, BEKHOR ḤAYYIM BEN MOSES

BEJERANO, BEKHOR ḤAYYIM BEN MOSES (1850–1931), Bulgarian rabbi and scholar. Bejerano was born in Eski-Zagra, Bulgaria, and studied under Zechariah ha-Levi of Salonika. He learned, in addition to his regular Torah studies, languages and other secular subjects. In 1880, he moved to Rushchuk, where he served as head of the community and where Solomon *Rosanes was one of his pupils. During the Russo-Turkish War (1878), Bejerano found a haven in Choumla. He afterward moved to Bucharest, where he was both a dayyan and principal of the school of the Sephardi community. His years in Bucharest were his most fruitful, both in terms of literary productivity and of personal gratification. He maintained close ties with Queen Elizabeth of Romania and served as the official interpreter for Semitic languages of both the Romanian royal house and of the official government institutions. His publication of several books in Romanian earned him a government decoration. In 1908, Bejerano was chosen chief rabbi of Adrianople and in 1922, chief rabbi of Constantinople, a position he held until his death. Bejerano was famous for his generosity and was greatly honored in his lifetime. He was a corresponding member of the Spanish and French academies. His Hebrew articles appeared in Ha-Maggid, Ḥavaẓẓelet, Ha-Me'assef and Ha-Miẓpeh, etc. He left many works in manuscript.

bibliography:

M.D. Gaon, Yehudei ha-Mizraḥ be-Ereẓ Yisrael, 2 (1938), 143f.

[Itzhak Alfassi]